Here is a look at what Tennessee football Volunteers players are doing for 2021 in the offseason.
Dating back to the last week of the 2020 season, Tennessee football has seen a wave of transfers and departures from the program. Some of it could be due to the disastrous 3-7 season the Vols just underwent with Jeremy Pruitt, and some of it could be due to the investigation. At the same time, it could be due to a lack of playing time.
The NCAA’s decision to allow 2020 to not count against the eligibility of athletes naturally meant that numerous seniors would spend this extra year finding a place where they could be more featured as a player. That is a big reason for the movement. It also opens up numerous questions about what UT’s roster will look like next year.
As we track what players are doing, we’re separating Tennessee football seniors and undergraduates. We’ll look at seniors returning, seniors transferring, seniors not returning, early NFL Draft departures, transfers added and undergraduates transferring. Many seniors are still in question. Let’s start, though, with early departures.
Early NFL Draft departures
Bryce Thompson
- Defensive back
- 5’11” 190 pounds
- Irmo, S.C.
No Jeremy Pruitt recruit has lived up to his hype on Rocky Top the way Bryce Thompson did through three years. A freshman All-American in 2018 with three interceptions, Thompson came back and had three interceptions in a game in 2019. He was out of rhythm that year, though, due to early-season issues.
In 2020, Thompson came away with two interceptions and a pick-six and was the bright spot in a horrendous secondary. Thompson announced his decision to declare for the NFL Draft after his junior season on Instagram.
Obviously, Thompson is one of the biggest losses that Tennessee football could suffer given how much trouble its secondary was already in. However, this was somewhat expected dating back to his first season. A couple of key seniors who aren’t returning are also huge losses. We go to them on our next slide.