National analyst predicts that 'sluggish' offseason trend won't continue for the Tennessee Vols
National recruiting analyst Adam Friedman believes a "sluggish" offseason trend won't continue much longer for the Tennessee Vols. Tennessee hasn't been very active in the NCAA transfer portal this offseason, adding just four transfer players despite losing over a dozen players to the portal. Friedman predicted on Thursday that Tennessee will be more active when […]
National recruiting analyst Adam Friedman believes a "sluggish" offseason trend won't continue much longer for the Tennessee Vols.
Tennessee hasn't been very active in the NCAA transfer portal this offseason, adding just four transfer players despite losing over a dozen players to the portal.
Friedman predicted on Thursday that Tennessee will be more active when the spring transfer window opens in a couple of months.
From Rivals.com: Roster retention turned out to be a bigger part of Tennessee’s offseason plan than the program's staff originally planned but the Vols were still able to keep key players such as Mike Matthews and Boo Carter from entering the portal. Normally, Tennessee is quite a bit more active in the transfer portal but this cycle it only signed four transfers – Sam Pendleton, Wendell Moe Jr., Star Thomas and Amari Jefferson.
In the past two cycles, the Vols signed at least eight transfers and each year they were able to bring in multiple impact players. The 2023 transfer class included Dont’e Thornton Jr., John Campbell Jr., Omarr Norman-Lott and Keenan Pili. Tennessee followed that group with players such as Lance Heard, Jermod McCoy and Chris Brazzell in the 2024 transfer class.
Look for the Vols to make their move during the spring transfer window and address a few key positions.
Tennessee wasn't quiet in the portal during the winter window by design, that's just how it played out for the Volunteers.
Under Josh Heupel, the Vols have been picky when it comes to what kind of players they add to the roster via the portal. And as a result, Tennessee's had very few transfer "misses". The Vols aren't just aimlessly throwing money at every talented player that enters the portal. They're very deliberate in making sure that it's a fit for both sides.
That means that while Friedman is expecting Tennessee to be busier during the spring transfer window, how many players the Vols actually add will ultimately come down to whether or not the right players enter the portal.
