Tennessee left guard Andrej Karic is shifting his focus to professional football, according to a report from VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs on Saturday.
Karic’s move to sign with an agent comes after being denied a waiver for an extra season of eligibility by the NCAA. Without any more eligible seasons at the collegiate level, Karic will now look to take his talents to the NFL.
The former starting lineman for Tennessee announced in December that he would be seeking an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA due to an injury that was suffered during the 2023 season. While a redshirt can only be applied to players who played in four games, Karic’s 2023 injury came just five snaps into Tennessee’s fifth game against Kentucky, costing him the redshirt for the season.
Karic’s request was denied and he will not be seeking litigation, according to Hubbs’ reporting.
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The Southlake, Texas, native spent the first three years of his career with the Texas Longhorns from 2020 to 2022. Karic transferred to Tennessee after the 2022 season, got hurt just five games into the 2023 season, but returned in 2024 to start all 13 games for Tennessee.
While the 2020 season didn’t count toward his eligibility as the COVID year, Karic still played five games in four seasons and is ruled out of eligibility.
Karic did not participate in Tennessee’s Senior Day festivities during the Vols’ home finale against UTEP last November.
With Karic not returning to Tennessee, the Vols now look to replace all three interior positions on the offensive line after the departures of Karic, Cooper Mays, and Javontez Spraggins. The Vols did address the position through the portal, though. Tennessee brought in Arizona’s Wendell Moe Jr. and Notre Dame’s Sam Pendleton through the transfer portal after the season. The departures also open up potential opportunities for Tennessee’s depth players including Max Anderson, Sham Umarov, William Satterwhite, and more.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider throughout the spring for Tennessee spring training camp coverage and a look at the Vols’ re-tooled offensive line.
