Handful of Tennessee offensive skill players enter transfer portal

Nov 30, 2022 - 9:37 PM

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Tennessee lost several reserves to the transfer portal on Wednesday. After wrapping up the regular season, roster evaluations began — both for coaching staffs and now the players. If you don’t have a path to playing time, the transfer portal is there to help.

Four Tennessee offensive skill players will take advantage. First up, a couple of receivers who weren’t in the rotation this year. Jimmy Holiday and Jimmy Calloway will each be looking for new opportunities.

Calloway and Holiday couldn’t crack the receiver rotation, trailing Cedric Tillman, Jalin Hyatt and Bru McCoy. Ramel Keyton, Squirrel White and Walker Merrill were the next three guys up, leaving Holiday and Calloway to play in garbage time only.

Calloway saw playing time last season, but failed to take the next step this season. The former four-star athlete will have three years of eligibility left.

Tennessee is expected to return McCoy and Keyton for next season, with Hyatt weighing and NFL decision. Squirrel White would more than likely fill Hyatt’s role if he did indeed go pro.

Now to the running backs. A pair of Tennessee backs are expected to enter the transfer portal, per Matt Zenitz. Len’Neth Whitehead is the first, who is working back from a season ending injury. Whitehead was expected to be Tennessee’s ‘big’ back, looking to build off of a solid 2021 season that saw him run for over 200 yards. That was all derailed in the preseason due to injury, opening the door for Dylan Sampson.

Four-star running back Justin Williams-Thomas will also hit the portal after failing to find the field as a true freshman. Once again, it was Sampson forging forward on the depth chart, leaving Williams-Thomas behind as the No. 4 option.

Tennessee currently has one running back commitment — three-star Khalifa Keith. After the developments today, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Volunteers dipped into the portal to bolster their depth ahead of 2023.

(Note: four-star athlete Cam Seldon could factor into the running back rotation.)

No big surprises here — honestly, no big losses. Calloway and Holiday had a chance to play next year, but nothing was obvious or guaranteed. The running back moves certainly make sense with Jabari Small, Jaylen Wright and Dylan Sampson coming back.

Expect plenty more movement over the coming days/weeks.