With the transfer portal slated to open in earnest on Friday, teams like the Tennessee Volunteers will look to use it to get better ahead of next season. After reaching the College Football Playoff a year ago, the Vols regressed this past campaign. Some of it had to do with Tim Banks' defense. A lot of it had to do with the constructs of Josh Heupel's offense and the guy running point in one Joey Aguilar.
Although there is a chance Aguilar could fight for another year of eligibility, odds are that the former Appalachian State starter is probably done in Knoxville. While it might end up being the promising underclassman George MacIntyre, there is a chance the Vols go hunting in the transfer portal to allow him a little more time to mature. Let's keep our eyes peeled on this player to possibly transfer in here.
That would be East Carolina Pirates starter Katin Houser. He has spent the last two years in Greenville after playing previously at Michigan State. Houser has been instrumental in the Pirates' turnaround in The American under their head coach Blake Harrell. He is listed as the 10th best transfer portal quarterback on Josh Yourish's big board. Nicholas Rome of Saturday Blitz has home coming to UTK.
Rome argues that Houser playing with far better weapons than ECU could offer would huge for him.
What Katin Houser could bring to the Tennessee Vols' passing attack
Over the last four years, Houser has appeared in 34 combined games. 21 have been at East Carolina, and 13 were at Michigan State. Houser has thrown for 6,438 yards, 43 touchdowns, and 22 interceptions. His accuracy has improved every season. Houser seems to be an ascending player, the kind who could conceivably be plug-and-play within the context of Josh Heupel's Air Raid offshoot.
What people have to remember about Houser is he played at Michigan State during a downturn for the Spartans, but used that to his advantage to help turn East Carolina around under new leadership. Heupel may not enter next season on the hot seat, but he has started to pick up more critics along the way with each passing year. Landing the right quarterback would be a huge plus for the program.
In the end, Houser could serve as the perfect bridge for Tennessee to eventually get to MacIntyre. Houser has one more year of eligibility, and he probably wants to go to a place where making the playoff is possible. While it is not out of the realm of possibility that ECU could win The American next year, Tennessee is far more likely to bounce back with a nine or 10-win campaign and make it in 2026.
If Heupel is intrigued by Houser's downfield passing ability, then he would be a great fit for Rocky Top.