Josh Heupel can breathe a sigh of relief. Tennessee football just took a huge step toward filling a major void created by numerous separate situations. In the process, the Vols probably found their top impact transfer for 2021.
Juwan Mitchell, the leading tackler for the Texas Longhorns last year, announced that he had committed to UT. The 6’1″ 230-pound linebacker entered the portal on March 31 and was at the Orange and White game two Saturdays ago.
Initially from New Jersey, Mitchell joined Texas after a year of junior college in Kansas as a member of the 2019 recruiting class. He announced his decision to join the Tennessee football program with a video on Twitter Monday.
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Given the Vols’ issues at inside linebacker, Mitchell is a huge pickup. UT lost three linebackers to the transfer portal before spring practice even started in Quavaris Crouch, Henry To’o To’o and J.J. Peterson, and Crouch has already joined the Michigan State Spartans.
After losing those guys, the Vols had to suspend freshman early enrollee Aaron Willis and redshirt freshman Martavius French due to an on-campus incident just before spring ball began. French has now entered the transfer portal as well.
That left really only Solon Page III as the guy who could truly play inside linebacker, and finding a transfer at that position became key for Heupel. He found the right guy in Mitchell, who has proven himself on the field the past two years in Austin.
Once a three-star JuCo prospect out of Butler Community College El Dorado, Kan., Mitchell has accrued 101 total tackles in 21 games at Texas over the past two years, 59 of which were solo. The graduate of Mater Dei High School Middletown Township, N.J. and product of Newark, N.J. also had three sacks, eight tackles for a loss, five pass deflections and a fumble recovery.
In 2020, Mitchell had 62 tackles, 30 of which were solo, to go along with four and a half sacks, a pass deflection and a fumble recover. He played in all 10 games and had eight starts. Simply put, Mitchell is a proven producer, and he’s a huge addition for the Vols.
With Mitchell’s is commitment, Tennessee football now has five transfers on the year. Mitchell follows USC Trojans defensive lineman Caleb Tremblay, who joined the Vols late last week. The other three are kicker Chase McGrath, also from USC, and quarterbacks Hendon Hooker of the Virginia Tech Hokies and Joe Milton of the Michigan Wolverines.