Tennessee football was hit hardest in transfer portal, CFB writer says
They are undergoing a coaching change, went 3-7 last year and are in the midst of an NCAA investigation that spurred the coaching change to begin with. All of that led to Tennessee football falling its hardest in the transfer portal, and analysts have taken note.
In his list of schools that took the biggest hit in the portal this year, Chris Hummer of 247Sports wrote that the Vols were hit the hardest. They were among eight teams on the list and the only SEC team on the list.
Hummer noted that Tennessee football lost six or seven starters depending on how you break down the depth chart and that they lost 10 players in their two-deep depth chart. Here’s a bit of what he wrote about the situation.
"If one were to go solely by recruiting rankings, Tennessee lost seven of their 10 most talented players to the transfer portal in one offseason. That listing doesn’t even count the number of their 2021 signees who asked out of their NLIs after the Vols fired Jeremy Pruitt."
It is true that the Vols have lost tons of elite talent among their departures. Defensive back Key Lawrence and offensive lineman Wanya Morris were among their top recruits in 2020 and 2019 respectively, and both are gone.
The same holds true for running back Eric Gray in 2019. He and running back Ty Chandler, who would have been a senior again this year, were the two most productive members of the offense last year, and Chandler also held that title in 2018.
Linebackers Henry To’o To’o and Quavaris Crouch were also two huge losses, as To’o To’o was arguably among the most productive people on defense. Kivon Bennett was the most productive edge rusher, but his transfer came after he was dismissed last season. Nickel Shawn Shamburger was the most productive player in 2019 and was limited last year. He’s now gone.
Other lesser names were still big losses, including kicker Brent Cimaglia, edge rusher Deandre Johnson, wide receiver Brandon Johnson, offensive lineman Jahmir Johnson and even quarterback Jarrett Guarantano. All of these guys have been at the very least rotational players for UT over the past couple years.
Then there were losses with huge potential, including linebackers J.J. Peterson and Martavius French along with quarterback J.T. Shrout. All of these guys could have been valuable to Tennessee football, and there departures hurt in a big way.
On the flip side, Josh Heupel has brought in some talent that could help offset these losses. He benefitted from the addition of Virginia Tech Hokies graduate transfer quarterback Hendon Hooker, and he added Michigan Wolverines transfer quarterback Joe Milton.
Mississippi State Bulldogs receiver JaVonta Payton, Auburn Tigers cornerback Kamal Hadden, Texas Longhorns linebacker Juwan Mitchell, Michigan linebacker William Mohan, Kansas Jayhawks defensive lineman Da’Jon Terry, USC Trojans defensive lineman Caleb Tremblay and USC kicker Chase McGrath are all among the transfers UT added as well. Heupel added most of them.
Next. Vols' 10 biggest winners from spring practice. dark
Taking all that into account, Tennessee football did suffer the biggest hit in the portal, but the Vols also added some new talent, and lots of them will help fill key voids created by the portal. Whether or not they will be as good is an open question, but they could be a better fit for Heupel’s system.