Tennessee football: Kenney Solomon in transfer portal an encouraging sign of depth

Another player appears to be leaving Tennessee football, but it could actually be a sign of the new depth Josh Heupel is building at specific positions. Perhaps the wide receiver class truly is loaded, or maybe the secondary is looking better than initially thought.

Kenney Solomon, who has played both receiver and defensive back for the Vols over the past two years, is now entering the transfer portal, according to Patrick Brown of GoVols247. Solomon was a walk-on in 2019 who earned a scholarship later that year, appearing in 11 games as a reserve defensive back and special teams player.

The next year, Solomon played all 10 games, the first five of which were in the same role as 2019. However, after Tennessee football’s open week, he switched to receiver and recorded a carry against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

If Heupel were looking at Solomon to play defensive back, he would be a bit of a bigger loss since the Vols have major questions there. The unit was already awful last year but then lost Bryce Thompson to the NFL, and Shawn Shamburger, whose absence most of last year was at the root of the struggles, entered the transfer portal too. Key Lawrence also transferred.

However, Heupel has been working to offset those losses with the additions of Auburn Tigers transfer Kamal Hadden and new junior college signee Roterius Torrence. Given those additions, the transfer of Solomon could mean that Heupel truly is rebuilding the depth. After all, the unit should be so depleted that if he were to play defensive back, he’d have an opening.

There’s a chance that Solomon was staying at receiver, though, and even in that case, his transfer could mean good news for UT. The Vols have a large group of young guys with potential in Jalin Hyatt, Ramel Keyton, Malachi Wideman, Cedric Tillman, Andison Coby, Walker Merrill and Julian Nixon. Every one of those guys will be back in 2022, and all but Nixon were there for spring ball.

Taking that into account, Solomon’s transfer could mean that Tennessee football has found its future targets at the position. Either way, the move this late in the offseason by the 6’0″ 185-pound native of South Carolina likely means the Vols have better depth than initially thought at one of the two positions.

On the same day of Solomon’s transfer, edge rusher Kivon Bennett, who was dismissed from the team last season, announced that he was heading to the Arkansas State Red Wolves and rejoining Butch Jones, who recruited him to Rocky Top. He made the announcement on Twitter.

Bennett’s departure was obviously expected, but in terms of a true loss, he’s a greater loss for Heupel given what he brings to the table. It’s worse for the Vols since edge rusher Deandre Johnson also transferred. Johnson is now with the Miami Hurricanes.

Despite these losses, Tennessee football has been in the process of adding more talent in recent weeks, particularly from the portal. The Vols still have glaring needs, particularly at linebacker, and future needs in the trenches, but they appear to be in much better shape than they once were.