Tennessee football boasted 17-total scholarship seniors this season that still had one-more season of eligibility remaining thanks to NCAA Covid-19 eligibility relief and medical redshirts.
With the transfer portal closed and the Vols’ bowl game in the rearview we know the fates of 13 of those scholarship players for next season. Five of those players are returning, six entered the transfer portal and two declared for the NFL Draft.
But what about those four, plus a bonus redshirt junior who went through Senior Day festivities? They have not announced their plans for next season and some of them may not announce anything at all, simply waiting to return to campus on Jan. 22 when classes begin for the spring semester.
There’s a better chance than not that each player who hasn’t announced plans on returning for one more season but until we get an announcement or they arrive on campus for the spring semester we won’t know for sure.
Let’s take a look at those five players here.
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Javontez Spraggins, OG
We’ll start with the most important player yet to make an announcement. A three-year starter at right guard, Spraggins still has a year of eligibility remaining due to NCAA Covid-19 eligibility relief.
Everything points to Spraggins returning as he didn’t go through Senior Day festivities. Spraggins returning would be huge for the Vols after he ranked as their best offensive lineman according to PFF last season.
Dayne Davis, OT
A former walk-on, Davis redshirted the 2019 season and gets the year of Covid-19 eligibility which allows him to return for a sixth season.
Tennessee is returning starting offensive tackles Gerald Mincey and John Campbell so there isn’t much of a path to a starting spot for Davis. But the Vols don’t have much depth at offensive tackle making his experience important.
Jackson Lampley, OG
Like Spraggins, Lampley didn’t go through Senior Day festivities and like Davis, he redshirted the 2019 season ahead of the Covid-19 effected 2020 season.
Lampley has mostly been a reserve offensive lineman for Tennessee but performed adequately when forced into action late in the 2023 season. If he returns for a sixth season, he’ll compete for a starting spot at left guard.
Elijah Simmons, DT
Simmons redshirted in 2019 before getting the Covid-19 eligibility in 2020. Despite missing the first half of the season with a leg injury he suffered in fall camp, Simmons turned in his best collegiate season in 2023.
If he returns, the massive defensive tackle will be in the rotation and will see real playing time again in 2024.
Omarr-Norman Lott, DT
The lone junior in this list, Norman-Lott went through Senior Day festivities before Tennessee’s win over Vanderbilt.
The Arizona State transfer was a part of Tennessee’s defensive line rotation last season and was a part of its effective pass rush package.
