Tennessee safety Tamarion McDonald joins portal wave, commits to Ole Miss
Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin are on an unprecedented run right now in recruiting. The Rebels landed Florida EDGE Princely Umanmielen and are pursuing Texas A&M defensive lineman Walter Nolen and Tennessee EDGE Tyler Baron.
Now, the staff has landed another talented prospect from the Southeastern Conference in Tennessee safety Tamarion McDonald.
The portal class now boasts seven commits with the addition of the Memphis, Tenn., prospect. He is the 169th overall prospect in the portal and the No. 13 safety, per On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings.
In 2023, McDonald finished his fourth season with 40 tackles, four pass breakups, a sack, and an interception as a starter in all 10 of his appearances. Over his four years in Knoxville, he posted 115 tackles, a dozen deflections, four interceptions, and the lone sack in 42 appearances with 24 coming as a starter.
Tamarion McDonald played at Whitehaven (Tenn.) where he was a three-star recruit.
He was the No. 619 overall recruit in the 2020 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average which utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He finished as a Top-50 safety in his class as well as the No. 16 player out of Tennessee.
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As a senior at Whitehaven in 2019, McDonald capped his high school career with Memphis Commercial Appeal Dandy Dozen, Tennessee Class 6A All-State Team and Memphis Commercial Appeal All-Metro Defensive First Team selections. The year before, he made 90 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, two sacks, three forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown.
Tamarion McDonald is a familiar name for Ole Miss fans.
Kiffin and the Rebels recruited him the first go-round when he was coming out of Memphis in the 2020 class. He ultimately chose the Volunteers over Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas and Kentucky.
Over his career, McDonald has totaled 116 tackles, 8.5 for loss, and four interceptions. During his time at Tennessee, McDonald has worked at multiple positions in the secondary, but he has primarily played the STAR position.
