Tennessee football offered Central Michigan safety transfer Trey Jones on Wednesday afternoon, Jones shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
Jones entered the transfer portal on Monday and the Vols joined Boston College and Texas A&M as teams that have offered the veteran defensive back.
The Wetumpka, Alabama native will be a sixth-year super senior in 2024 but still has one-year of eligibility remaining since he redshirted the 2019 season and received NCAA COVID-19 eligibility relief during the 2020 season.
Last season, Jones played in 11 games for the Chippewas, totaling 66 tackles, two pass deflections and two interceptions. Jonas also started 11 games for Central Michigan in 2022 where he totaled 85 tackles, three pass deflections and two interceptions.
According to PFF, Jones earned a 65.8 grade for his play in 2023. Jones’ second best game of the season came in the Chippewas loss against Notre Dame. In coverage, opponents targeted Jones just 24 times but completed 16 of the passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns.
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Just like his normal stats indicate, Jones graded out better during the 2022 season according to PFF. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound safety earned a 70.5 grade during his redshirt sophomore season.
Tennessee is in need of adding defensive backs to its roster this offseason. Six different Volunteer defensive backs have entered the transfer portal to date and while most of those players are cornerbacks, Tennessee’s need at safety is just as high if not higher.
Jaylen McCollough and Wesley Walker played the vast majority of the snaps at safety for Tennessee this season. McCollough is out of eligibility and Walker was a senior who still has a year of eligibility remaining. Walker has yet to announce his intentions for his football future.
Redshirt sophomore Andre Turrentine played in place of an injured Walker in the final two games of the regular season and sophomore Jourdan Thomas is a promising young player. But Thomas could be Tamarion McDonald’s replacement at STAR, leaving Tennessee in need of another starting safety. At the very least, Tennessee needs to add depth pieces in the backend of its defense.
