Tennessee landed Alabama receiver Amari Jefferson in the transfer portal. That’s a start.
Forgive me if I’m not doing backflips down Henley Street following the news. The Jefferson pickup was nice, but it certainly doesn’t make the Vols national championship contenders. They need more help than that. History would suggest they’ll be just fine.
The Vols have also landed Wendell Moe Jr. from Arizona. The Californian could start right away on the Vols’ offensive line, likely at offensive guard, as head coach Josh Heupel tries to rebuild the Vols upfront. However, Moe started just three games for the Wildcats last season and only played in four games. We’re likely not talking about the second coming of former Vol Trey Smith. However, Moe figures to be a good player considering Tennessee has been able to plug in transfers on the interior of its offensive line and be successful. The tackles are another story.
As for the portal, there’s still work to do, and the job is more challenging than ever. Why? Because the Vols aren’t nearly as hot as they’ve been previously under head coach Josh Heupel.
Tennessee pretty much landed who they wanted in the transfer portal during the last two recruiting cycles. The Vols landed nine transfers last season. A whopping eight made an impact last season. Tennessee landed eight transfers in the 2023 class. All had major impacts for the Vols. That makes me think that Tennessee lands good players when they get them. Now, they just need more.
Tennessee could use help at a number of positions. The Vols would like to restock their defensive line, add another receiver or two, another lineman or three and possibly a tailback. In other words, Heupel and his staff have plenty of work to do.
Other program are having much more success in recruiting transfers than the Vols, but not by a large margin. Just take a look at the best programs in the SEC. Texas has four transfers committed or signed in the upcoming class. Alabama has three transfers incoming. Georgia has five.
While the transfer portal has been the talk of college football – as it should have been – since it was adopted in 2021, its effect on the game may actually be diminishing. Why? Coaches and administrators are more on top of keeping current players happy with NIL rewards as opposed to promises. The onus seems to be shifting.
Tennessee, as well as any other program, needs to be as equally adept at recruiting high school prospects as it is recruiting transfers, if not better. In the end, that’s what will win championships. NIL is evolving in front of our very eyes. Why? Because high school prospects are cheap. Sure, there’s a Nico now and again, a player that demands a high, up-front cost, but that isn’t likely to be the norm. Moreover, Heupel may not have as much money to spend as much as he once did.
Per sources, Tennessee is trying to get a handle on NIL spending since the new model will rule out collectives and bring the player payments in house. That doesn’t mean the Vols aren’t going to be competitive. Other programs are surely doing the same. However, Heupel had it pretty good.
Heupel had all the cash he wanted for two reasons. First, he absolutely had to have it considering how bad the program was when he took over before the 2021 season. Second, his success, especially in 2022, had NIL sponsors writing checks like they were burning a hole in their pocket. Now, that offensive explosion in 2022 seems like a long time ago. It’s time to find out of Heupel can continue to recruit at a high level and have some staying power. He’ll have to do it in high school recruiting and may need to better asses who he’s getting from those ranks.
Heupel’s evaluation of transfers has been spot on. His evaluation of high school prospects has been spotty. That’s evident by the number of players that have recently left Tennessee after struggling in the SEC.
The Vols have lost 13 players to the transfer portal since the end of the 2024 season. No, they all weren’t good players, and some were surely shown the door, but that’s an alarming number nonetheless.
Tennessee had its eye on several top transfers, but they’ve chosen other schools. Florida State receiver Malik Benson (Oregon), Washington State defensive lineman David Gusta (Kentucky), Southern California receiver Zacharian Branch (Georgia), Southern California defensive back Zion Branch (Georgia), South Dakota State running back Angel Johnson (Washington State) all decided to transfer to another school over Tennessee despite the Vols’ best efforts.
One has to wonder if the Vols are cash strapped. After all, they spent a lot of up front money on a quarterback that desperately needs some protection. If the Vols can’t provide a better pocket for Nico Iamaleava than they did last season, they won’t be national championship contenders and maybe not even playoff contenders. Citrus Bowl anyone?
Tennessee is clearly cold in the transfer portal compared to other schools. The Jefferson pickup will help, but that had better not be the end of it. If so, then no one will be doing back flips, cart wheels or any other acrobatics in downtown Knoxville.
