Tennessee defensive back Christian Harrison committed to Cincinnati football on Thursday night, he announced on X.
#TheStrongShallReign
🐾 pic.twitter.com/F7l5JE7Yqy— Christian Harrison (@ChrisHarrisonI) January 9, 2025
Harrison entered the transfer portal back in December following the Vols’ season-ending loss against Ohio State in the College Football Playoffs.
“Thank you to the man above for blessing me with everything, without him I am nothing,” Harrison posted to X after entering the portal. “Also, thank you to the Tennessee fans for all of the support. With that being said, I will be entering my name in the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining.”
Harrison was a three-star recruit in the Vols’ 2022 class, playing in six games as a freshman before redshirting during the 2023 season. He totaled 31 tackles, one pass deflection and half a sack in his three seasons in Knoxville.
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The 6-foot-1, 191-pound defensive back’s best season at Tennessee came in 2024 when he was a co-starter with Boo Carter at the STAR spot. Starting in four games, he totaled 20 tackles, three tackles for loss and half a sack while playing in all 13 of Tennessee’s games.
Harrison totaled 273 defensive snaps over the course of the 2024 season, earning 66.3 grade according to Pro Football Focus.
After a mass exodus of defensive backs to the transfer portal last season, Harrison is one of just two players in the Vols’ secondary to enter the portal. Sophomore cornerback Jordan Matthews was the over with the Louisiana native committing to Vanderbilt out of the portal.
Boo Carter is back and the favorite to start at the STAR spot for Tennessee during the 2025 season after coming on in the back half of his freshman season. However, Carter could potentially play offense and defense during his sophomore season which could potentially lessen his workload on the defensive side of the ball.
Jourdan Thomas was the favorite to start at STAR for Tennessee in 2024 but missed the entire season after tearing his ACL in fall camp. Thomas is back in 2025 and could play STAR or safety for Tennessee’s defense.
