Portal Tracker: Vols add three commitments from NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday

Tennessee football added commitments out of the NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday afternoon from Oregon wide receiver Dont’e Thornton, Arizona State defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott and Miami offensive lineman John Campbell. The three new commitments make seven players the Vols have added out of the portal since early December. Here’s a look at Tennessee’s activity in the portal so far:

COMMITMENT FROM THE PORTAL

WIDE RECEIVER DONT’E THORNTON — OREGON

Dont’e Thornton, the 6-foot-5, 185-pound sophomore out of Oregon, caught 17 passes for 366 yards and a touchdown in 11 games with the Ducks this season. He had nine receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns in four games at Oregon as a freshman in 2021. Thornton, out of Mount Saint Joseph in Baltimore, Md., was a four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting cycle, ranked No. 71 overall, No. 10 at wide receiver and No. 3 in the state of Maryland. 

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OMAR NORMAN-LOTT — ARIZONA STATE

Omar Norman-Lott, the 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive lineman from Arizona Sate, entered the transfer portal on December 5. He was a four-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle, ranked No. 347 overall, No. 39 among defensive limens and No. 33 overall in the state of California, where he attended Grant Union High School in North Highlands, Calif. Norman-Lott spent three seasons at Arizona State, using a redshirt year in 2020, then recording 45 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sack over the last two seasons. He had 14 tackles in nine games this year, with 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.

OFFENSIVE TACKLE JOHN CAMPBELL — MIAMI

John Campbell, the 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive tackle out of Miami, started 11 times in 12 games for the Hurricanes this season. He made 17 starts in 33 career games at Miami over the previous four seasons. He was a three-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle, ranked by the On3 Consensus as the No. 39 offensive tackle in the class and the No. 82 overall prospect in the state of Florida, out of Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando. Out of high school he had offers from Miami, Georgia, Ohio State, USC and Alabama, among others.

SIGNEES FROM THE PORTAL

LINEBACKER KEENAN PILI — BYU

The 6-foot-3, 233-pound Pili, who spent the last four years with the Cougars, announced his commitment on social media. 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 this season. He had 13.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks during his time with the Cougars. Pili, a native of Provo, Utah, was a three-star prospect in the 2016 recruiting cycle out of Timpview High School. He was ranked No. 107 among linebackers in the class and No. 12 overall in the state of Utah. 

OFFENSIVE TACKLE ANDREJ KARIC — TEXAS

Andrej Karic, a 6-foot-5, 306-pound offensive tackle from Texas, announced his commitment to Tennessee on Monday afternoon. He played 26 games over the last three seasons with the Longhorns, making two starts this season while appearing in all 12 games. He entered the transfer portal on December 5. He was a four-star prospect out of Southlake Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas, ranked No. 305 overall in the 2020 class. He was ranked No. 31 at offensive tackle and was the No. 42 overall player in the state of Texas. Tennessee is losing All-SEC First Team right tackle Darnell Wright to the NFL Draft.

TIGHT END MCCALLAN CASTLES — UC DAVIS

UC-Davis tight end McCallan Castles, a 6-foot-6, 245-pound tight end, was Tennessee’s first commitment out of the transfer portal in the 2023 class. Castles was second-team All-Big Sky after catching 32 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns. He had 27 catches for 363 yards and four touchdowns in 2021, after catching 12 passes for 194 yards in the COVID spring season in 2021, leading to first-team All-Big Sky honors.

Castles played three games at Cal in 2018 and played for the Golden Bears against UC Davis early in 2019 before transferring. He has one year of eligibility to use at Tennessee.

KICKER CHARLES CAMPBELL — INDIANA

Indiana kicker Charles Campbell was Tennessee’s second commitment out of the portal, announcing his decision not long after the McCallan Castles commitment. 

Campbell is No. 8 in Indiana football history in field goals made with 37 and is 14th in career points, with 179. He’s kicked five field goals from 50 yards or farther, including a career-best 55. 

Campbell grew up a Tennessee fan and took an official visit to see the Vols in 2014.

TENNESSEE PLAYERS IN THE PORTAL

SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER WALKER MERRILL

Walker Merrill, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound in-state receiver out of Brentwood High School,  entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on January 4. He caught eight passes for 116 yards and three touchdowns as a backup wide receiver this season. He had two catches for 21 yards and a touchdown against Bowling Green, two catches for 46 yards and a touchdown against Akron and one catch for seven yards and a touchdown in the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt. Merrill caught five passes for 52 yards as a freshman in 2021. He signed with the Vols as a four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting cycle, ranked No. 57 among wide receivers and No. 9 overall in the state of Tennessee.

REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE OFFENSIVE LINEMAN RJ PERRY (Committed to South Florida)

RJ Perry, the 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive lineman out of Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Ala., entered the Transfer Portal on January 4. He moved from defensive line to the offensive line before his freshman season in 2020, when he sat out as a redshirt, and appeared in seven games last season. He played in all 13 games this season as a reserve offensive lineman and special teams player. Perry was a three-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting class, ranked No. 72 among offensive tackles and No. 30 overall in the state of Alabama.

REDSHIRT FRESHMAN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN WILLIAM PARKER

Redshirt freshman offensive lineman William Parker entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on January 3. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Parker, out of Nashville, Tenn., attended Pearl-Cohn High School. He was a three-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class, ranked in the On3 Consensus as the No. 397 overall player in the class. He was ranked 33rd among offensive tackles and No. 10 overall in the state of Tennessee. Parker’s offers included Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and LSU, among others.

REDSHIRT FRESHMAN TIGHT END MILES CAMPBELL

Miles Campbell, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound redshirt freshman tight end out of Douglasville, Ga., announced his intentions to enter the portal on December 1. He played four games before redshirting in 2021, primarily on special teams. He played 13 snaps against UT Martin this season, but missed time the last two years while dealing with injuries.

Campbell is a former three-star prospect out of South Paulding High School. He was by the On3 Consensus as the No. 440 overall player in the 2021 recruiting cycle. He was the No. 18 tight end in the class and the No. 34 overall player in the state of Georgia. 

Redshirt senior Princeton Fant led Tennessee’s tight ends this season with 20 receptions for 222 yards and three touchdowns. He rushed six times as a fullback for 17 yards and five more touchdowns and even threw a 66-yard touchdown on a trick play against UT Martin on his only pass attempt of the season. Redshirt senior Jacob Warren, who still has a year of eligibility remaining should he choose to use it, caught 12 passes for 163 yards. The Vols signed four-star tight end Ethan Davis in the 2023 class.

REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE RUNNINGB BACK LEN’NETH WHITEHEAD

Len’Neth Whitehead, the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder out of Athens Academy in Athens, Ga., entered the portal on November 30. He struggled to stay healthy during his time with the Vols. He played in six games last season, rushing 32 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns, but missed time due to injury.

Whitehead was sidelined by a foot injury during his senior year of high school and was still in the rehab process when he enrolled at Tennessee. His freshman season ended with a shoulder injury. His sophomore season was slowed by injuries, too.

An upper-body injury in August required surgery that ended his redshirt sophomore season during fall camp.

Whitehead was a four-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle, ranked No. 191 overall, No. 22 among running back and No. 20 out of the state of Georgia. 

FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK JUSTIN WILLIAMS-THOMAS (Committed to Cal)

Justin Williams-Thomas, the 6-foot, 210-pound freshman running back, entered the portal on November 30. He appeared in three games for the Vols this season, rushing 11 times for 37 yards. 

Williams-Thomas had three rushes for six yards against Ball State in the season opener on September 1. He had five carries for 22 yards in the 63-6 win over Akron on September 17 and had three carries for nine yards against UT Martin on October 22.

Williams-Thomas was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, picking Tennessee over Auburn. He was ranked No. 235 overall in the On3 Consensus, was the No. 16 running back in the class and the No. 27 overall prospect out of the state of Georgia, where he attended East Paulding High School in Dallas, Ga.

REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER JIMMY CALLOWAY (Signed with Louisville)

Jimmy Calloway, who entered the portal on November 30, never found his footing at Tennessee. He finished his career with the Vols with just nine receptions over three seasons, totaling 124 yards and a touchdown. This season, Calloway had two catches for 20 yards. His career highlight was a 44-yard touchdown pass against Pitt last season at Neyland Stadium.

FRESHMAN DEFENSIVE LINEMAN JORDAN PHILLIPS (Committed to Maryland)

Jordan Phillips was a three-star prospect out of Ocoee High School in Ocoee, Fla. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound freshman defensive lineman was ranked as the No. 73 overall defensive line prospect in the 2022 rankings. He was the No. 86 overall prospect in the state of Florida. He picked Tennessee over offers from Michigan, Miami, Auburn, Missouri, Florida and Iowa State, among others.

REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER JIMMY HOLIDAY

Jimmy Holiday the first Tennessee player to announce his intentions to enter the portal this offseason on November 30, spent three season with the Vols. The Mississippi native arrived on campus as a quarterback and was quickly moved to receiver. As a freshman in 2020, Holiday had one jet sweep rush for six yards. In 2021 he had one catch and five kickoff returns. 

This season Holiday had five catches for the Vols, including a touchdown, in mop-up duty against Ball State and UT-Martin. He has been a key part of special teams. Holiday averaged 20 yards per kickoff return this fall on 14 returns and had a long of 61 against Florida. 

In coverage, Holiday was a key part on kickoff and punt teams downing several punts inside the 20-yard line. As a gunner he helped the punt coverage unit be one of the best, with Tennessee giving up just five yards per punt return this season.