A former Tennessee Vols defensive lineman who transferred to UCF after the 2025 season admits that he wishes he would’ve landed at his current school a year earlier.

Former Vols defensive lineman Josh Schell transferred from Grand Valley State ahead of the 2025 season, but he barely played during his lone year on Rocky Top.

Schell played in just three games and logged only 21 snaps before entering the transfer portal in January.

The Michigan native said recently that he wishes he had transferred to UCF, instead of Tennessee, for the 2025 season.

According to On3’s UCF Sports, Schell visited UCF before transferring to Tennessee, but he was attracted to the idea of playing in the SEC (which is certainly understandable).

“Yeah, I definitely wish I would have made that decision a year ago,” said Schell earlier this year (via On3). “I think I would have been a better football player if I had come here last year.”

Schell’s comments weren’t a slight at Tennessee, but rather they were specific to his own development.

“I’m not hating on where I was,” said Schell. “It was a great place, and I had a great experience.”

Schell’s comments are a reminder of how tough the transfer process can be for the players who aren’t dominating the headlines in January. If you’re a young player who has dreamed of playing in the SEC or the Big Ten, it’s probably incredibly difficult to turn down that opportunity even though it could be tough to get playing time.

The good news for Schell is that he had a good experience at Tennessee and he still gets another year to play at a school where he’ll actually get game day reps.