Former Tennessee cornerback Jordan Matthews committed to Vanderbilt football on Wednesday night after spending a week and a half in the transfer portal.
A former four-star recruit in the 2022 recruiting cycle, Matthews was a major win for Josh Heupel and his staff on the recruiting trail when he committed to Tennessee over Texas. But Matthews spent most of his two seasons at Tennessee on the bench, redshirting in 2023 and then playing just 83 snaps during the 2024 season.
Matthews is a talented young player but his path to playing time at Tennessee was very blurry. The Vols’ two starting cornerbacks, Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III, are both sophomores and are returning for at least one more season. Temple transfer Jalen McMurray was Tennessee’s third cornerback this season and he still has one year of eligibility remaining.
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With the three cornerbacks ahead of Matthews returning for the 2025 season, it was difficult to see how Matthews’ role was going to dramatically increase next season.
Landing Matthews was a big win on a very successful day for Clark Lea and Vanderbilt. Quarterback Diego Pavia received an extra year of eligibility earlier on Wednesday and will now be back on West End for the 2025 season. Pavia was a big part of Vanderbilt’s successful 6-6 (3-5 SEC) season which included upset wins over Alabama and Auburn.
Cornerback was a major weakness for Vanderbilt, especially in the back half of the season as the Commodores dropped their final three games of the season. Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns against Vanderbilt to conclude the regular season. The yards were a season-high and the touchdowns were a best in SEC play.
Vanderbilt is hoping to improve upon a breakout 2024 season in Clark Lea’s fifth year as head coach. Lea and the Commodores are 0-4 against Josh Heupel and Tennessee with the Vols winning the last six matchups in the series.
