Tennessee football: DB Chayce Bishop entering transfer portal may prove costly

On the surface, this doesn’t seem like a big deal. Tennessee football is losing a walk-on to the transfer portal, something that happens all the time. However, when you analyze the walk-on himself and the needs of the Vols, it becomes a bigger issue.

UT defensive back Chayce Bishop announced on Wednesday that he is entering the transfer portal. A preferred walk-on to the class in 2020, Bishop did not see any action last year but was billed as a diamond in the rough at the time by Brandon Martin of SI.com.

In the 5’11” 180-pound range, Bishop was a three-star wide receiver on 247Sports and three-star defensive back on Rivals, so he was certainly an athlete who could have provided some value to Tennessee football in the future. He announced his decision to enter the portal on Twitter.

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Given the fact that he was a three-star, it was unclear why he committed late as a preferred walk-on. The product of Independence in Thompson’s Station, Tenn., which is just outside of Brentwood, clearly had a good bit of versatile talent.

That the coaches moved him over to defensive back meant they saw value in him there, even if he didn’t play last year. So we’ve covered the undervalued part as to why Bishop’s entry into the portal could prove costly. Then there’s the needs part.

It’s no secret the Vols have issues at defensive back. Their secondary was horrendous last year, and they just lost their best defensive back, Bryce Thompson, to the pros. Meanwhile, Shawn Shamburger, whose absence most of last season was a contributing factor to the secondary struggles, is back in the portal as well.

This means that for as bad as Rocky Top’s secondary was last year, it could get even worse this year. Josh Heupel and Tim Banks have to work overtime to find the right rotation, and Bishop may have been a guy who could have provided it.

Simply put, Tennessee football didn’t just lose any walk-on to the portal. The Vols lost a guy who could shore up a position of need and may be an undervalued prospect. We don’t know everything that went into his departure, but he could be a big loss.