Tennessee Vols transfer addition reportedly waiting to make one decision about his future that's been speculated about
The Tennessee Vols made a big transfer portal addition on Tuesday by landing former Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Amari Jefferson. Jefferson, 6-foot/197 lbs from Chattanooga, TN, is a former four-star recruit who was rated by 247Sports as the No. 33 wide receiver in the nation during the 2024 recruiting cycle. He was also rated […]
The Tennessee Vols made a big transfer portal addition on Tuesday by landing former Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Amari Jefferson.
Jefferson, 6-foot/197 lbs from Chattanooga, TN, is a former four-star recruit who was rated by 247Sports as the No. 33 wide receiver in the nation during the 2024 recruiting cycle. He was also rated as the No. 5 player in the state of Tennessee.
Jefferson, who has four seasons of eligibility remaining after taking a redshirt year at Alabama in 2024, was committed to Tennessee for baseball for a couple of years before eventually landing with the Crimson Tide to play football.
According to Jefferson's Perfect Game profile, he was rated as the No. 6 baseball player in the state of Tennessee.
With Jefferson now committed to Tennessee to play football as a transfer addition, there's been some speculation about his baseball future.
Due to a hip injury (he's expected to be cleared to begin working out in February), and the timing of his transfer, there's almost certainly no chance that Jefferson will play baseball at Tennessee in 2024. That's just not a realistic scenario considering Jefferson wasn't playing baseball at Alabama. Throw in the injury and the fact that Jefferson is getting acclimated to a new school/football program and it's easy to see how baseball is likely off the table this year.
But what about beyond 2024?
Jefferson is obviously a talented multi-sport athlete and there could be some unique NIL opportunities for him if he played both sports at Tennessee. But according to Chattanooga Times Free Press sports editor Stephen Hargis, Jefferson will "likely wait before making a decision on his baseball future".
From The Time Free Press: Jefferson recently underwent minor hip surgery, but he is expected to be cleared to begin working out in February, according to his father. He soon will enroll at Tennessee and plans to practice with the Vols this spring. The 6-foot, 195-pounder was a two-sport star at Baylor and intended to play both sports in college. However, after the surgery, he likely will wait before making a decision on his baseball future.
That seems to indicate that playing baseball in the future is still a possibility for Jefferson, though it would ultimately be a surprise to see him on the baseball field at Tennessee. Due to spring practice and offseason workouts, it's tough for athletes to play multiple sports in college (which is incredibly unfortunate for athletes who grow up loving to play multiple sports).
It would be fun to see Jefferson on the diamond — he's one of the few athletes who could potentially have a pro career in baseball or football — but it sounds like we'll have to wait and see if that's a realistic option for the new Tennessee wide receiver.
Update:
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, there's "mutual interest" between Tennessee and Jefferson when it comes to playing baseball for the Vols.
It's still unlikely that Jefferson plays baseball in 2024 with the season set to start on February 14 and football spring practice starting in March. We'll see, though, how things develop over the next couple of months.
