Former Vol who transferred from Tennessee after the 2023 season named one of the top returning offensive linemen in college football
The former Tennessee Vols offensive lineman has performed well since leaving UT two years ago.
A former Tennessee Vols offensive lineman was named this week as one of the top returning offensive linemen in college football in 2026.
SMU offensive lineman Addison Nichols spent the first two seasons of his career at Tennessee before transferring to Arkansas ahead of the 2024 season.
After one season with the Razorbacks, Nichols entered the transfer portal for a second time, landing at SMU a year ago.
Nichols played center at Arkansas before moving back to guard at SMU.
Pro Football Focus listed Nichols this week as one of the top returning guards in 2026.
“Nichols was a solid center at Arkansas in 2024 before moving to right guard after transferring to SMU,” wrote PFF’s Max Chadwick. “Just like his time with the Razorbacks, Nichols impressed as a pass protector.
“His 90.0 PFF pass-blocking grade was sixth in the FBS as he didn’t allow a sack and only gave up six pressures across 875 pass-blocking snaps. Nichols’ 86.0 PFF pass-blocking grade since 2024 is the highest of anyone on this list.”
Why did Addison Nichols leave Tennessee?
Nichols’ decision to leave Tennessee after the 2023 season was a bit of a surprise considering he would’ve had a shot to win the starting center job after the 2024 season.
After transferring to Arkansas, Nichols explained that he didn’t think he was going to reach his full potential at Tennessee.
“Coach (Josh) Heupel is a great guy, a great coach and has a great program,” said Nichols. “Couldn’t say a bad thing about him. Definitely learned a lot through my time there, but at the end of the day, I just didn’t see myself hitting my full potential in the room I was in.”
“Like I said, nothing bad to say about the program at Tennessee,” added Nichols. “There’s some great people, Coach Heupel does a tremendous job with the program and culture. I learned a lot about football and being a man during my time there. It’s just one of those things where, looking forward, I needed more.”
Sometimes a player just doesn’t fit at a school for whatever reason. And it seems that was the case with Nichols, because he’s played extremely well since leaving Tennessee.
Nichols, by the way, faced his former Tennessee teammates in 2024 when he was at Arkansas, and the Razorbacks got the win in that matchup in Fayetteville.
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