Tennessee football: Ranking every player who transferred from Vols by 2021 performance
![North Carolina Tar Heels running back Ty Chandler (19)takes the ball down the field while playing against South Carolina Gamecocks during the DukeÕs Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Thursday, December 30, 2021.Jg Mayobowl 123021 036 North Carolina Tar Heels running back Ty Chandler (19)takes the ball down the field while playing against South Carolina Gamecocks during the DukeÕs Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Thursday, December 30, 2021.Jg Mayobowl 123021 036](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/1e915dc23be02752dca490a91f4e152e2244c0769dd5c2c3b583604f39b5224e.jpg)
Defensive back. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. Baylen Buchanan. 11. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 2119
1 TFL; 1 PD; 2 FR; 47 tackles (35 solo)
- Redshirt senior
- 5’11” 188 pounds
- Entered portal Nov. 18, 2020
You would never know Baylen Buchanan took two years off. The son of Ray Buchanan and a commitment in Tennessee football’s 2016 class, Baylen Buchanan and Nigel Warrior were the first players to have their helmet stickers removed for the Vols given how rapidly they advanced. Buchanan then started the first few games of 2016 with Cameron Sutton hurt.
Over the next three years, Buchanan was in and out of the lineup as a starter, but he was the main nickel, ahead of Shawn Shamburger, in 2018. However, as 2019 rolled around, he had to undergo surgery for spinal stenosis, the same issue that ended Cooper Manning’s football career.
Buchanan then missed all of 2019. As he was slow to recover in 2020, he opted out of that season. Finally, with the year falling apart, he decided to enter the transfer portal in November of that year, and he went to play for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. That move worked to perfection.
This past year, his final year of eligibility, Buchanan started every game at cornerback, and he proved his abilities. As more of a physical guy, Buchanan didn’t have any interceptions, but he did a lot of other things based on his stats, and although LT went 3-9 under Skip Holtz, Buchanan deserves credit for fighting to end his college career on his terms.