A former Tennessee Vols defensive back who transferred to Vanderbilt after the 2024 season had some (bizarre) trash talk for his former teammates this week.

Defensive back Jordan Matthews spent the first two seasons of his college career at Tennessee before leaving the Vols for the Commodores this past December.

The former four-star recruit totaled four tackles and two passes defensed during his time at Tennessee.

On Tuesday, Matthews met with reporters and he was asked about transferring from Tennessee to Vanderbilt.

Matthews told reporters that he’s now on the “winning side” of the rivalry.

“Definitely some of my guys back at Tennessee have given me some stuff for it,” said Matthews. “And some people here have given me some stuff for it, too. But I feel like it’s a nice rivalry. It’s deep and rich. And I feel like I embrace the fact that I’m on the other side of it. And now I’m on the winning side of it.”

Jordan Matthews on transferring from Tennessee to Vandy:

“Some of my guys back at Tennessee have given me some stuff for it. It’s a nice rivalry, it’s deep and rich. I embrace that I’m on the other side of it and now, I’m on the winning side of it.”

? @vucommodores pic.twitter.com/iT5L12cMjN

— Billy Derrick (@billyderrick10) September 24, 2025

Jordan Matthews went 2-0 against Vanderbilt during his time at Tennessee

Matthews was actually on the “winning side” of the Vols-Vandy rivalry the last two seasons.

Tennessee beat Vanderbilt 48 to 24 during Matthews’ true freshman season in 2023. Last season, the Vols beat the Commodores 36-23 in Nashville.

Matthews played in both games for the Vols (mostly on special teams) — he’s literally already experienced the winning side of this rivalry.

Vanderbilt will make the trip to Knoxville later this season (the final weekend of the regular season) to take on Tennessee.

Thanks to Matthews’ comments and the trash talk from Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia this past summer, the Volunteers will have no shortage of motivation when Vanderbilt comes to Rocky Top in late November.

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