After spending one short week in the transfer portal, former Tennessee defensive tackle Da’Jon Terry committed to Oklahoma football Friday afternoon. Terry announced his commitment as well as thanking his former coaches and teammates on Twitter.
Thankyou Vol Nation🍊#BoomerSooner @CoachToddBates pic.twitter.com/1WmAQExybt
— DaJon Terry (@DaJonTerry1) June 2, 2023
“I want to thank my teammates for each and every day we stepped on the field together to make each other better,” Terry wrote in a statement. “I want to thank Coach Heupel, Coach Banks, and Coach G(arner) not only for the opportunity but for the constant push to be the best I could be. I also want to thank everyone that helped me become the best person I could be off the field. I could not be where I am today without every person that has entered my life here in Knoxville. Thank you so much.”
Terry was a heavily used rotational piece at the center of Tennessee’s defense each of the last two seasons. The Meridian, Mississippi native originally went to Kansas out of high school before transferring to Tennessee ahead of the 2021 season.
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The mammoth 6-foot-4, 321 pound defensive tackle recorded 35 tackles, six tackles for loss and three sacks in his Tennessee career while recording 16 tackles and two sacks during the 2022 season. Terry earned a 62.6 grade in 231 snaps from Pro Football Focus for his play last season which ranked fifth amongst interior Tennessee defensive lineman.
At Oklahoma, Terry is immediately eligible because he is a grad transfer and has one year of eligibility remaining. The defensive tackle was a quick target for Brent Venables and his staff and will immediately bolster the Sooners’ defensive line next season.
Oklahoma is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2022 when they posted just a 6-7 record in Venables’ first season as head coach.
Losing Terry is a blow for Tennessee but far from crippling. The Vols have an abundance of depth in the interior of their defensive line and a handful of returning contributors including Kurrott Garland, Omari Thomas, Bryson Eason and Elijah Simmons to pair with Arizona State transfer Omarr Norman-Lott.
