Defensive lineman Caleb Herring transferred to South Carolina earlier this year after spending the first three seasons of his college career at Tennessee.

Herring, a former four-star recruit who played high school football in Murfreesboro, TN, totaled five sacks during his three seasons with the Volunteers.

The former Vol will see some of his former Tennessee teammates later this season when UT visits Columbia for a matchup with the Gamecocks.

Caleb Herring gets asked about facing Tennessee this season

Herring met with reporters last month and he was asked about facing Tennessee on October 24.

He admitted he’s been thinking about the matchup against the Vols, but it doesn’t sound like he’s viewing it as any sort of “revenge game.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve thought about that multiple times,” said Herring. “I’m just ready to compete. I’m ready to go out there with my brothers and just do what we do. We’ve been climbing every single day, doing great things, and leaning into that. But really, my thought process right now has just been on fall camp, of course. But whenever that day comes, we’re gonna be ready.”

Herring spoke positively about his time at Tennessee earlier this year, noting that he just felt that his time with the Vols had ended after the 2025 season.

“I feel like going to Tennessee, I really feel like that helped make me into the person I am today,” said Herring. “And then sitting behind two high-end guys, Joshua Josephs and James Pearce, they really helped me build my game. Even though the first two seasons, I’m not going to lie, they were very frustrating. I barely played. But just learning behind those two guys, it ultimately led to the season I had last year.

“And then shoot, I felt like my time at Tennessee had ended. Like after that year, I have good memories and stuff from there, but I just felt like it was time.”

Herring also admitted that leaving Tennessee was the hardest decision he’s had to make.

“It was the hardest decision I had to make,” said Herring. “I felt like it was time for me to leave Tennessee, and give my best somewhere else. After the first five or six games that were good, there was a little dip in consistency.”

Herring recorded three sacks in the first three games of the 2025 season, but he only had one sack over the rest of the season.