Tennessee football: Ranking transfers by performance in 2021

All the talk heading into last year surrounded the number of players Tennessee football lost to the transfer portal and for good reason. The Vols were wrecked, which is what led everybody to believe Josh Heupel would struggle his first year. However, he shocked everybody by going 7-6, and he did so with lots of transfers on his own.

In fact, multiple players who joined Rocky Top via the portal saved Heupel from having to rely too heavily on his 2021 recruiting class, which had lots of developmental guys in it, especially after five players either transferred or were released from their letters of intent. Simply put, the portal saved Hepel’s first year.

There were 10 players Tennessee football picked up through the portal, some even before Heupel arrived, and many had huge roles on the team. Let’s break down how each of them performed. This our ranking of every player who transferred to UT in 2021.

Previous school: Michigan Wolverines

A post-spring practice pickup, the Vols picked up William Mohan in May. Josh Heupel already had a huge need at linebacker given all the turmoil at that position, and Mohan, despite playing just one game in Ann Arbor, Mich., seemed like the perfect candidate to provide depth. He also committed as a guy with a bright future given his four years of eligibility left.

Surprisingly, though, Mohan didn’t see a lot of action. The 6’1″ 210-pound reserve did see action in every game, to be fair, but he mostly came off the bench. For the year, he had just nine tackles, six of which were solo, and he didn’t rack up stats anywhere else.

With all the linebackers appearing to come back in 2022, Mohan will likely once again have more of a backup role for Tennessee football. However, he’s still got plenty of time to develop and move up on the roster, so this can’t be held against him. It’s just that compared to other transfers’ performances, he has to be at the bottom of the list.