Tennessee cornerback Cristian Conyer enters NCAA transfer portal

Tennessee cornerback Cristian Conyer entered the transfer portal, On3 has learned. He spent just one season with the Volunteers after committing to them out of high school.

The Bowling Green, Kentucky native appeared in 10 games last season but only came up with one total tackle, largely playing spot snaps for a solid Vols’ defense. Now, he’ll evaluate options this spring ahead of the 2024 season this fall.

Prior to Tennessee, Conyer played at South Warren high school in Bowling Green, where he was rated a three-star recruit by the On3 Industry Rankings. He fell in as the No. 589 overall player in the 2023 class, as well as the No. 3 prospect from Kentucky and the No. 59 cornerback in the nation.

Coming out of high school, Mark Stoops and the Wildcats were quite interested in Conyer, as they are with many of the top in-state prospects each season. But Josh Heupel and co. were able to cross the border and lock down the top-600 recruit in enemy territory.

However, now that he’s back on the market, perhaps Stoops and Kentucky reach back out to try and arrange a homecoming, since corner has been a position of need in Lexington this offseason.

Tennessee retains possible transfer

After announcing his plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, Tennessee defensive lineman Jayson Jenkin changed his decision last week, according to Vol Quest’s Matt Ray.

Last Tuesday, Jenkins was planning to enter the portal and explore options closer to his home state of New Jersey. But has now had a change of heart and will remain with the Volunteers ahead of the 2024 season as he looks to be an impact player on the team’s defensive line rotation.

In his first year with Tennessee, Jenkins redshirted after making one game appearance versus Ball State where he recorded two tackles. And last season for the Vols he played six games, racking up four total tackles on the season.

Jenkins played high school football at Notre Dame High School in Trenton (NJ) where he was a three-star recruit. Ranked the No. 1,088 overall prospect in the nation and the No. 118 defensive lineman from the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

At 6-foot-6, 250 pounds Jenkins surely has the size to be an impact player on Tennessee’s defense come this fall. Now, it looks like he’ll stick it out in Knoxville.