Lane Kiffin trolls Tennessee on social media after adding two Vols out of NCAA Transfer Portal
Lane Kiffin couldn’t add two former Tennessee players out of the NCAA Transfer Portal without letting Tennessee fans know about it. After getting commitments from Tyler Baron and Tamarion McDonald on Saturday, Kiffin posted a picture on social media of a Tennessee private jet parked at the Knoxville airport.
Kiffin’s pictures from Knoxville’s McGhee-Tyson Airport were initially posted on social media by Kiffin when he was in Knoxville on Monday, the same day McDonald entered the portal and three days after Baron did so.
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) December 16, 2023
McDonald, who was sidelined by a shoulder injury late this season, spent four years with the Vols, recording 115 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, one sack and picking off four passes.
He had a career-high 55 tackles, 4.0 tackles and two interceptions in 13 games in 2022. He had 40 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss this season.
Baron, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Knoxville native, is coming off his best season with the Vols, posting a career-high 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks. He had 28 tackles — 16 solo and 12 assisted — over 12 games.
In 46 games at Tennessee, Baron has 101 tackles, 27.0 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks, along with three passes defended and one fumble recovery, which he returned 24 yards for a touchdown in the 59-3 win over UConn in November. Baron had 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks as a junior in 2022 and 7.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks in 2021.
McDonald and Baron make three former Tennessee players that Kiffin has added to his Ole Miss defense in recent days. Former Tennessee and Oklahoma safety Key Lawrence committed to Ole Miss on Thursday.
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Lawrence had 149 tackles, three interceptions, 12 passes defended and six forced fumbles in 35 games over three seasons at Oklahoma. The Nashville native had eight tackles and appeared in three games as a freshman at Tennessee in 2020 after signing with the Vols as a four-star prospect.
Vols have lost ten players this month, added two portal commitments
The Vols this month have lost nine players to the NCAA Transfer Portal — redshirt seniors Warren Burrell and Brandon Turnage, senior defensive back Doneiko Slaughter, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Mo Clipper Jr., junior defensive back De’Shawn Rucker, freshman defensive back Jack Luttrell and redshirt freshman offensive lineman Addison Nichols — and one player to the NFL, with junior running back Jaylen Wright declaring for the draft on Friday.
Tennessee has added two players out of the portal, getting commitments from former Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes and Middle Tennessee State defensive back Jakobe Thomas.
The 6-foot-4, 242-pound Staes spent the last two seasons with the Fighting Irish. He caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games this season, after catching one pass for 11 yards as a freshman in 2022.
Thomas, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety, spent the last two seasons at MTSU, recording 108 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and four interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, to go with eight passes defended, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
