Positions Of Need For Tennessee Football In The Transfer Portal

The college football regular season is over but the excitement is only just beginning. The transfer portal officially opens next Monday but players across the country are announcing their intentions to enter the portal this week.

That gives Josh Heupel and college football coaches across the country a week to iron out what their needs are in the portal before attacking them hard next week.

Some of those needs are hard to pinpoint because there are seniors that could return or leave and players on Tennessee’s roster that could transfer as well.

But as currently sits, no Tennessee player has announced plans to enter the transfer portal. Let’s take a look at five positions of need for the Vols in the portal.

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5. Interior Offensive Line

This is one of those positions that will be altered largely by whether Tennessee seniors will return for their super senior seasons or not. Starting left guard Ollie Lane is gone but both center Cooper Mays and right guard Javontez Spraggins still have eligibility remaining.

Neither Mays nor Spraggins went through Senior Day festivities which is a good sign though it’s not a guarantee that they will return. If both return, Tennessee could probably get by without adding an interior offensive lineman in the portal.

But if both Mays and Spraggins leave, Tennessee will badly need more bodies on the interior of the offensive line. Andrej Karic is expected to return for another season and Tennessee has a number of other underclassmen interior offensive linemen.

Offensive line depth was a problem for Tennessee this season and will be a massive one next season if Mays and Spraggins depart.

4. Defensive Tackle

Similar to the interior of the offensive line, Tennessee returning senior Omari Thomas, redshirt senior Elijah Simmons and redshirt junior Omarr Norman Lott would lessen the need to add defensive tackles in the portal.

All three went through Senior Day festivities last week but could return. If they don’t, Tennessee would lose four rotational defensive tackle from last season.

Redshirt junior Bryson Eason, sophomore Tyre West and freshman Daevin Hobbs are all back in addition to rising redshirt freshman Tyree Weathersby. So there’s a lot of moving pieces at defensive tackle but the Vols are liable to be thin on the interior of the defensive line next season.

I anticipate Tennessee adding at least a body or two at defensive tackle out of the transfer portal.

3. Receiver

Unlike interior offensive line and defensive tackle, Tennessee doesn’t need a ton of bodies at receiver. The Vols are poised to return four of their top five receivers and it could be all five if Bru McCoy elects to return.

But Tennessee lacked a true number one this season at receiver. Dont’e Thornton has the skillset to be a true number one receiver but that’s no given after his topsy turvy season.

I doubt Tennessee adds a bunch of receivers to its roster via the transfer portal this offseason but I could see them targeting a big name or two.

2. Safety

Tennessee needs bodies and quality players at safety. Jaylen McCollough and Wesley Walker played nearly every snap for the Vols at safety last season. McCollough is gone and Walker is one of the seniors that still has eligibility remaining.

Behind that group is a lot of unproved young players. Andre Turrentine wasn’t great playing in Walker’s place in the final two games of the regular season. Christian Charles was hurt for much of the season but struggled to carve out a role when healthy while sophomore Jourdan Thomas worked more at STAR than safety this season.

Tennessee is short on proved bodies at safety and few on the roster even got noticeable work as backups this season. The Vols need safety bodies that have proven they can play at a high level.

1. Offensive Tackle

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, this one depends on which veterans decide to return.

Tennessee played four offensive tackles this season and Dayne Davis, Gerald Mincey and John Campbell can all return but none are guarantees. Campbell seems particularly unlikely.

And the offensive tackle depth is just as worrisome as the interior of the offensive line. Tennessee has no young offensive tackles that appear poised to step into a larger role. That means the Vols will be reliant on adding bodies at offensive tackle via the portal.

Even if some of Davis, Mincey and Campbell return, Tennessee will need to add more bodies from a depth standout. If either of Mincey or Campbell leave, the Vols need to add a starting quality offensive tackle via the portal.