Tennessee might have a second shot to land receiver Ryan Newsome, who ultimately ended up signing with Texas in the 2015 class after heavily considering the Vols and others.
Newsome, who recorded four catches for 23 yards and six kick returns for 110 yards as a freshman last year at Texas, announced earlier this week that he has been granted a release from Texas and will transfer.
The 5-foot-8, 170-pounder from Aledo, Tex., has posted this photo of himself and Tennessee wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni since making his transfer announcement.
Hmmm…🤔 pic.twitter.com/X44pmxQNv5
— Ryan Newsome (@NewBoi17) July 18, 2016
It’s difficult to say exactly what Tennessee’s overall level of interest and chances would be with the former four-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 27 overall receiver in the 2015 class by the 247Sports Composite ranking.
Tennessee only has 11 scholarship seniors on the 2016 roster, so remaining under the 85-man scholarship limit could be an issue for UT, depending on several variables such as attrition, early NFL entrees and how many players UT fits into the 2017 signing class.
Tennessee currently has 10 scholarship receivers on its roster, not counting Vincent Perry, who remains in the program, but is academically ineligible for this coming season. All but lightly-used senior Cody Blanc are projected to be back in 2017, including Perry if he can regain eligibility.
The Vols have commitments from a pair of wide receivers – Princeton Fant and Jacquez Jones – in the 2017 recruiting class.
Newsome won’t be eligible until 2017 if he elects to transfer to another FBS program, per NCAA rules.
