Transfer Tracker: Which Tennessee players are entering the portal and who the Vols are recruiting
The NCAA Transfer Portal officially opened on December 4, the start of a 30-day window for college football players to enter their names in the portal. Tennessee has already been busy with both players departing the program and offers being extended to other players in the portal.
Here’s a closer look at the Vols who have entered the portal and the players in the portal that Tennessee has offered:
Tennessee’s Departures
Redshirt senior defensive back Warren Burrell announced his intentions to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal as a graduate-transfer on November 30. Over five seasons at Tennessee, he had 91 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, one interception, seven passes defended and a fumble recovery while appearing in 37 games with the Vols. He was a three-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle out of North Gwinnett High School in Georgia.
Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Mo Clipper Jr. announced his decision to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal on December 1, making it two Vols in two days who had announced their intentions to transfer. The 6-foot-5, 308-pound Clipper was a reserve offensive lineman for the Vols. He signed with Tennessee as a three-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle out of Milton High School in Alpharetta, Ga.
Redshirt senior defensive back Brandon Turnage entered the NCAA Transfer Portal when it opened on December 4. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound Turnage started his collegiate career at Alabama in 2020 before transferring to Tennessee. In three season with the Vols, he appeared in 31 games, recording 48 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, an interception and five passes defended.
Freshman defensive back Jack Luttrell entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on December 4, less than a year after arriving at Tennessee. He signed with the Vols as a three-star safety prospect out of Colquitt Country in Moultrie, Ga. He was ranked No. 848 overall in the 2023 recruiting class. He was the No. 81 safety prospect in the country and the No. 82 overall prospect in the state of Georgia.
Tennessee redshirt freshman Addison Nichols entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on December 4. He played just 49 snaps in the first 11 games this season and had already decided to enter the portal, sources told Volquest, before getting his first career start in the regular-season finale against Vanderbilt. Nichols was ranked No. 166 overall in the 2022 recruiting class. He was the No. 11 interior offensive lineman in the cycle and ranked No. 18 overall in the state of Georgia, out of Greater Atlanta Christian School.
Tennessee senior defensive end Tyler Baron plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, it was reported on December 8. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Baron, a 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.
It was reported on December 8 that Tennessee senior defensive back Doneiko Slaughter intends to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal. The 6-foot, 190-pounder had 32 tackles and one sack in 10 games this season. Over the last four seasons, Slaughter appeared in 43 games, accounting for 87 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He had one interception, seven passes defended and one fumble recovery.
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Tennessee’s Offers in the NCAA Transfer Portal
Marley Cook (MTSU)
Tennessee offered Middle Tennessee State defensive lineman Marley Cook on November 30. The 6-foot-2, 298-pound Cook, out of Water Valley High School in Water Valley, Mississippi, has 60 career tackles, 19.0 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery in 39 games over four seasons at MTSU. He had 22 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and a sack this season, after posting career-best numbers in 2022, with 22 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.
Remington Strickland (Texas A&M)
Tennessee offered Texas A&M offensive lineman Remington Strickland on December 1. was a four-star prospect in the On3 ratings in the 2021 recruiting class out of Ft. Bend Christian in Sugar Land, Texas. He was ranked No. 297 overall, No. 17 among interior offensive lineman and No. 44 overall in the state of Texas. Other offers that have been extended to Strickland include Houston, Cal, Colorado State, Kansas, UTSA, Illinois, Boston College, Vanderbilt, Arizona State and SMU, according to his posts on social media.
Syeed Gibbs (Rhode Island)
Tennessee offered Rhode Island redshirt freshman defensive back Syeed Gibbs on December 5. The 6-foot, 180-pound corner started 10 games and had 52 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, three interceptions and six passes defended. Gibbs entered the transfer portal on Monday officially after announcing his intentions on November 29. He’ll have three years of eligibility remaining. At the time of the Tennessee offer Tuesday morning, Gibbs had already posted offers from UConn, Liberty, Boston College, Appalachian State, UMass, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and West Virginia.
Holden Staes (Notre Dame)
The Vols this weekend are scheduled to host Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes, who recently entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. 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. He was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class out of Westminster School in Atlanta, Ga. He was ranked as the No. 9 tight end his class and was the No. 23 overall player in the state of Georgia. He was ranked No. 201 overall in the On3 ratings.
Tennessee Players Returning
Tennessee offensive tackle John Campbell announced on social media on December 4 that he would be returning to the Vols in 2024 for his seventh year of college football. Campbell spent five years at Miami before transferring to Tennessee. He started the first 10 games of the season for the Vols at left tackle before dealing with an injury over the final three weeks of the regular season. He has started 27 times in 43 career games, including 18 starts in 34 games at Miami.
Tennessee fifth-year senior linebacker Keenan Pili announced his return to the Vols for the 2024 season on social media on December 8. The BYU transfer was lost to what proved to be a season-ending injury in the season-opening win over Virginia on September 2. He finished the Virginia game with four tackles, including two solo tackles. He earned a game ball after the win, after playing 30 snaps. Pili spent the last four years at BYU. He had 191 tackles in 34 career games at BYU, including 62 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks in 12 games last season. He had 13.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks during his time with the Cougars.
