Former Tennessee starting STAR safety Tamarion McDonald is transferring to Ole Miss according to a post on social media on Saturday afternoon. McDonald was previously a two-year starter for Tennessee and will have one year of eligibility left in college.
@CoachGolding 🦈 pic.twitter.com/YIBXJlUgpd
— Tmac! (@tjdadonn) December 16, 2023
McDonald, a Memphis native, started Tennessee’s first 10 games this season before an injury against Missouri took him out of the action for the Vols’ final two games against Georgia and Vanderbilt.
McDonald was a three-star prospect from Whitehaven High School in the recruiting cycle before joining Tennessee for his freshman season in 2020. McDonald racked up seven-game appearances and one start as a true freshman during the shortened COVID 2020 season.
McDonald’s breakout season came during his junior year in 2022 where he started all 13 games for Tennessee at the STAR position. The junior safety finished fourth on the team in total tackles that season and found himself an interception during the Orange Bowl.
In fact, McDonald racked up a total of four interceptions throughout his four-year career at Tennessee with two coming during the 2022 season. McDonald’s lone interception this past season came against UT-San Antonio in Knoxville.
More from RTI: Highly Touted Notre Dame Tight End Transfer Commits To Tennessee
McDonald tallied 40 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one interception, one sack, and five defended passes during the 2023 season. The Memphis native had a total of 116 tackles, 8.5 TFLs, one sack, four interceptions, and 16 defended passes throughout his career on Rocky Top.
“T-Mac is our guy on the backend,” Tennessee defensive back’s coach Willie Martinez said about McDonald in mid-October. “He’s got to set the defense, he’s got to make the checks, he’s got to be a very productive player when he’s playing against the slots, from a run game and from a passing game. He’s done a tremendous job.”
McDonald earned a 76.3 grade from Pro Football Focus on 486 snaps throughout the 2023 season.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin is certainly familiar with Knoxville and was in town this past week. McDonald will be a boost to the efficiency and the depth of the Rebels’ secondary room during his final season in college football
