A Tennessee football transfer target included the Vols in his top schools on Sunday. The NCAA transfer portal is open until January 18.
Davon Sears, a defensive lineman from Texas State, has the Vols in his top three among Oklahoma and Penn State. He entered the transfer portal on December 18.
Sears has yet to announce when he will be making a decision. Tennessee football could host the 6-foot-2 and 290-pound defensive lineman during the January 4-8 visit window this year.
Tennessee extended Sears a scholarship offer last Monday. He has two seasons of eligibility left.
Transferring to Texas State after playing community college football at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa, Sears did not play in 2021. He appeared in all 12 games for Texas State, finishing the year with 15 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
Coming out of JUCO, Sears ranked as a three-star. He was the No. 55 JUCO prospect nationally, and the No. 11 defensive lineman.
Sears hails from Center Line High School in Center Line, Michigan. He did not have much college interest out of high school.
The transfer portal has revolutionized college football. By allowing teams to fill immediate needs, the portal can lead to the rise of teams who often don’t pull top recruits.
An immediate need for Tennessee football will be the defensive line. With Byron Young on the way out, Josh Heupel is in need of another anchor to his defense.
In their 2023 recruiting class, the Vols bring in a lot of defensive help. Particularly on the defensive line, Tennessee picks up Daevin Hobbs and Tyree Weathersby. Hobbs could make an immediate impact for Tennessee, and he was ranked as the No. 51 prospect nationally.
Sears could be a plug-and-play guy in Tennessee’s defense – a defense that is seeking improvement. Since he didn’t play in 2021 and his last JuCo season doesn’t count against his eligibility due to the COVID exception, Sears will have two years of eligibility left.
