Former Tennessee defensive back Key Lawrence plans on entering the transfer portal after spending the last three seasons at Oklahoma, 247sports’ Matt Zenitz first reported Monday.
Lawrence was a very promising freshman defensive back for Tennessee in 2020 but entered the transfer portal shortly after the Vols’ fired head coach Jeremy Pruitt. In three seasons as a safety at Oklahoma, Lawrence totaled 148 tackles, six forced fumbles, one sack and three interceptions.
The Nashville native played in 24 games in his first two seasons at Oklahoma, combining to start eight games. In Lawrence’s senior season in Norman and earned a 67.4 PFF grade in 398 stats.
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It’s unclear whether there could be a possible reunion between Lawrence and Tennessee in the cards but pursuing Lawrence makes sense for the Vols.
Tennessee largely played seniors Jaylen McCollough and Wesley Walker exclusively at the two safety spots in 2023. McCollough is out of eligibility and it’s currently unclear whether or not Walker will return to Tennessee for his super senior season.
Behind the duo of seniors, Tennessee has safeties Andre Turrentine, Christian Charles and Jourdan Thomas returning for another season. Like Lawrence, Turrentine is a Nashville native who played his high school football at Ensworth. Lawrence is two years older than Turrentine.
Tennessee has lost four players in the transfer portal to date including two cornerbacks. Follow along with the Vols’ transfer portal departures with the RTI transfer portal tracker here.
