Josh Heupel and his Tennessee Volunteers staff need to prove this once and for all: Was last season the anomaly, or was it the playoff run in 2024-25? After reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history two years ago, Tennessee pulled back considerably. While they still won enough games to go bowling, not being utterly dynamic at quarterback, or on defense, cost them big.
While Heupel is clearly the best head coach Tennessee has had since Phillip Fulmer was at his absolute apex, Vols fans are starting to grow anxious about the state of their football program. Have we seen the best out of Heupel in Knoxville already, or is there still some room to grow? The answer is probably the latter, but he needs to flex his coaching chops this season to make sure he will get more.
Now that spring football has come and gone, let's now turn our collective attention to a few places on the roster where maybe Heupel and his staff could have done more work in the transfer portal. Not having a spring transfer window anymore is what it is. While Heupel should be thankful to not have his best player poached out of it like last spring, does his team have the necessary firepower to go win?
Here are three transfer portal misses Tennessee could come to regret not having put pen to paper.
3. S King Mack (Penn State -> North Carolina State)
With former Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles coming over to Tennessee after only one season in State College, one would think he would have been able to land any Nittany Lion he wanted out of the portal on defense. While some of his former players might have followed James Franklin over to Virginia Tech, safety King Mack ended up picking North Carolina State over Tennessee here.
Knowles may be more of a defensive front-seven coach than a defensive backfield guy. However, Mack choosing to play for the Wolfpack unfortunately signifies something Tennessee fans may not want to admit. There is a non-zero chance Mack believes NC State is more likely to reach the College Football Playoff this year out of the ACC than Tennessee is out of the SEC. Either way, this one stings.
This upper classman from Fort Lauderdale would rather spend his final year in Raleigh over Knoxville.
2. DL Walter Mathis Jr. (LSU -> Auburn)
Walter Mathis Jr. is another key defensive target the Volunteers missed out on in the transfer portal. The Savannah, Georgia native initially signed with LSU in Dec. 2024 before enrolling in May 2025. He spent one year playing for the Bayou Bengals before hitting the transfer portal. Many teams wanted him, but he opted to play slightly closer to home at Auburn. What does this transfer tell us anyhow?
Mathis ended up committing to the greatest Heupel disciple of all in Alex Golesh. While Auburn is not expected to contend for a playoff berth, there is undeniable optimism coming out of this program for the first time in a while. Tennessee may be coming across as yesterday's news under their current regime. The fact Knowles specializes in the pass rush makes Mathis to Auburn hurt even more so...
These are the type of commitments that could swing a solid SEC team's season, one way or another.
1. QB Sam Leavitt (Arizona State -> LSU)
Tennessee may be a consistent NFL talent machine, but so is every team worth its weight in salt in the Big Ten and the SEC these days. While being able to add a defensive back like King or a defensive lineman like Mathis could have been huge for the Vols, the big name they really missed out on is former Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Sam Leavitt. He will now lead LSU under Lane Kiffin.
The Volunteers were one of the programs Leavitt visited with last winter. By committing to play at LSU, Leavitt helps make the Tigers playoff-viable immediately after such a trying season for the program. Had he come to Tennessee, the general public might be viewing the Vols in a similar light. For now, this is still a top-25 team, but maybe not on the Tigers' level just yet. Let's wait and see here.
Leavitt is arguably the one player who could have made Tennessee a few wins better than it is now.
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