Clark Lea confirms Tyler Fortenberry is no longer part of Vanderbilt program

Tyler Fortenberry is no longer with Vanderbilt, Commodores coach Clark Lea said Tuesday. He was getting ready for his first season in Nashville after transferring from the JUCO level.

Fortenberry spent two years at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi before transferring to Vanderbilt. After starting out as a quarterback, he hauled in 72 yards and a touchdown in 2023 after switching to tight end.

Fortenberry ended up farther down the depth chart as Vanderbilt went through training camp, and Lea said his decision was likely because of the role this year. That led to his departure from the program.

“He’s not with our program anymore,” Lea said. “I think he felt like he wasn’t gonna have the role that he felt like he needed to have. So he made the decision to go home. We wish him the best, but would’ve loved to have seen him stick it out and compete. It just wasn’t in the cards for him.”

Tyler Fortenberry was a three-star recruit coming out of the JUCO rankings. He was the No. 130 overall player and No. 6-ranked tight end from the 2023 transfer cycle, according to the On3 Industry Junior College Rankings. With a redshirt this year, he’d have two years of eligibility remaining. If he decides to enter the transfer portal, Fortenberry will have to wait until the window opens Dec. 9.

Vanderbilt underwent multiple changes this offseason as Lea overhauled the coaching staff. Tim Beck is now in as offensive coordinator, with Jerry Kill coming in as a senior offensive advisor and consultant to the head coach, and Lea is taking back the defensive play-calling this year.

There’s also a quarterback competition going on as New Mexico State transfer Diego Pavia and Nate Johnson battle it out for the QB1 job. Earlier this month, Lea said they’re both splitting reps as the staff gets ready to make a decision ahead of next week’s opener.

“We’re going to push through this next scrimmage and evaluate,” Lea said. “They’re still sharing reps and we’re giving everybody a chance to go at it. But we’re having conversations around it off the field. I think we’ll have a little more clarity coming out of this scrimmage. It’s still something we wait until we play until we announce. It’s developing and developing at the rate I expected it to.”

Vanderbilt will get the 2024 season underway Aug. 31 against Virginia Tech at home. Kickoff is set for Noon ET on ESPN.