Josh Heupel’s Tennessee Volunteers recorded one of their worst season runs, going 8-5 overall and 4-4 in the conference. They also lost the Music City Bowl against the Illinois Fighting Illini 28-30 to end the season.
This was a significant drop from their last season’s performance, where they won 10 games and lost only 3. With the season coming to an end in such fashion, the Volunteers were bound to go into rebuilding mode.
That would include adding some quality players to the roster while dealing with the setback of losing players to the transfer portal. That cycle has started already, and several players have committed to the portal.
At the same time, the Volunteers are doing their best to fill positions with the best possible options. Here’s a complete list of players who have decided to leave and those who have joined Josh Heupel’s team.
Leaving Tennessee
- Jordan Ross – Defensive lineman
- Josh Schell – Defensive lineman
- Jayden Loftin – Defensive lineman
- Herb Gray – Defensive lineman
- Trevor Duncan – Defensive lineman
- Kellen Lindstrom – Defensive lineman
- Jamal Wallace – Defensive lineman
- William Satterwhite – Offensive lineman
- Bennett Warren – Offensive lineman
- Max Anderson – Offensive lineman
- Max Gilbert – Kicker
- Emmanuel Okoye – Edge rusher
- Caleb Herring – Edge rusher
- Ricky Gibson – Defensive back
- Colin Brazzell – Defensive back
- Marcus Goree – Defensive back
- Boo Carter – Defensive back
- Amari Jefferson – Wide receiver
- Braylon Harmon – Wide receiver
- Tommy Winton – Wide receiver
- Peyton Lewis – Running back
- Jake Merklinger – Quarterback
- Brenden Anes – Linebacker
Joining Tennessee
- Qua Moss – Safety (Kansas State)
- Ory Williams – Offensive tackle (LSU)
The list of players leaving Tennessee is significantly longer than that of those who will be joining Heupel’s squad. It’s only been a few days since the transfer portal opened, so there’s a lot of movement that’s yet to happen.
Heupel knows his team needs better players on the offensive line, safety, defensive line, and quarterback positions. The Volunteers are currently in the process of recruiting talent from the available pool, such as Joshua Dobson, but they haven’t been able to lock down numbers.
Blake Toppmeyer Believes Josh Heupel Should Leave the Vols
While Heupel and the Volunteers are trying to recruit new talent, Blake Toppmeyer of USA Today Sports believes it’s time for Heupel to provide guidance to another program.
“Penn State needs offense. Penn State needs quarterback development. Penn State needs a coach who might occasionally beat a chief rival,” Toppmeyer wrote. “That’s Heupel’s theme music.”
It’s highly unlikely that Heupel will consider that as an option right now. With the team’s poor run this season, he’d be motivated to come back with the Volunteers and possibly make a title run next season.
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