According to Tennessee head football coach Jeremy Pruitt, rising senior running back Tim Jordan is no longer part of the Vols’ football program.
Pruitt met with the media on Thursday via a virtual press conference, and he was asked about the status of the veteran running back following an arrest in Florida at the end of May. Pruitt said that Jordan is “no longer on the team” as of now.
Jordan, a native of Bartow, FL, was pulled over in his home county in late May after two Lakeland police detectives on patrol claimed they saw a vehicle speeding and repeatedly swerving into the bicycle lane per the arrest warrant. The officers stopped the vehicle and reportedly smelled “a strong odor of cannabis emanating from inside.”
Jordan was behind the wheel of the vehicle, and a 17-year-old male was in the passenger seat. The teenage passenger’s name has been removed from the warrant.
After being pulled over, Jordan reportedly told officers he had a gun in his back pocket but did not have a concealed carry permit. The handgun was a Ruger LP pistol and was loaded and unholstered in his back pocket. Inside the vehicle, the officers reportedly found a small bag containing 9.25 grams of marijuana along with a scale and several other empty plastic bags.
The rising senior running back faced charges of carrying a concealed firearm, possessing narcotic paraphernalia, and possessing 20 grams or less of marijuana. He was arrested before 5 AM in Lakeland on May 30th.
The 5-foot-11, 219-pound back joined Tennessee as part of the Vols’ 2017 signing class. He appeared in all 12 games as a freshman in 2017 and made a small impact. In 2018, Jordan finished second on the team with 522 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 132 carries while adding 12 receptions for 116 yards, appearing in all 12 games and making two starts. This past season, Jordan appeared in 12 of UT’s 13 games and made four starts, totaling 428 yards and a score on 104 attempts while also catching six passes for 46 yards.
In his Tennessee career, Jordan totaled 1,002 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 247 carries while catching 26 passes for 227 yards in 36 games.
Tennessee is now down to three returning running backs from last year’s roster. Seniors Ty Chandler and Carlin Fils-aime are joined by sophomore Eric Gray in UT’s running back room as backs returning from last season’s team. The Vols do welcome in several newcomers to the group, however. Tennessee signed three projected running backs in the 2020 class in Len’Neth Whitehead, Tee Hodge, and Jabari Small.
