After both players were noticeably absent from the practice field on Sunday afternoon, Butch Jones announced in his post-practice media session that true freshmen Daniel Helm and Dewayne Hendrix will seek transfers from Tennessee before the start of the next semester.
“Daniel Helm has decided that he’ll go to another school.” Jones said following Sunday’s practice. “(Dewayne) Hendrix and (Derrell) Scott will also be going to other schools. We thank them and wish them all the best. And we will help them out in any way that we can.
“Every individual has a different reason, a different circumstance for (transferring). But the only thing we can do is thank them and help them and provide help with finding another school, whatever they wish to do.”
Helm appeared in all 12 regular season games for Tennessee while accounting for six catches for 37 yards. The 6’4, 240-pound tight end from Chatham, Illinois was listed as a co-backup all season alongside junior Alex Ellis.
Dewayne Hendrix, a 6’4, 275-pound defensive end from O’Fallon, Illinois, saw action in seven games during the 2014 season and recorded two tackles. The news on Hendrix doesn’t come as a total surprise, as Jones said last week during a radio interview that Hendrix was, “kind of going through some things” when asked about his absence from last weekend’s bowl practice.
The news comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that true freshman running back Derrell Scott would also be looking to transfer to a school closer to his home in Havelock, North Carolina. And that true freshman defensive end Joe Henderson had decided to leave the program as well.
Here is what Butch Jones said last week ahead of any official word of anyone transferring:
“It’s all speculation,” Jones said. “With Joe [Henderson], we’re finishing up on some things with the NCAA. We have a couple individuals right now that are trying to sort out what they want to do with their lives and what lies ahead of them. We’ll be supportive of them. If they decide they want to be a part of something special then, hey, let’s go. If they decide, ‘hey, this isn’t for me and I want to take another life path and go home or do this,’ then we’ll support that as well. But we want people that want to be here, that are committed to this football program, to the state of Tennessee, and the University of Tennessee.”
All four players were considered 4-star prospects according to 24/7 Sports’ recruiting rankings.
