Tennessee unexpectedly lost a player to the transfer portal, but the Vols were able to quickly replace him
The Tennessee Vols worked quickly to address a surprise departure.
The Tennessee Vols suffered a surprise transfer departure earlier this month, but UT head coach Josh Heupel and his staff worked quickly to find a couple of replacements.
Vols true freshman tight end Jack Van Dorselaer entered the NCAA transfer portal earlier this month, despite seeing significant action during his first season on Rocky Top.
Van Dorselaer, who transferred to Oklahoma, played in all 13 games for the Vols in 2025. He only caught five passes for 23 yards and a touchdown, but he was on the field for some critical moments (such as the game-tying touchdown against Mississippi State).
Vols legend Jason Witten will serve as Van Dorselaer’s tight ends coach at Oklahoma.
Tennessee quickly replaced Jack Van Dorselaer
The Volunteers didn’t waste any time replacing Van Dorselaer.
Tennessee landed a commitment from South Alabama transfer tight end Trent Thomas just three days after Van Dorselaer entered the transfer portal.
Thomas, 6-foot-5/254 pounds from Mobile, AL, caught five passes for 39 yards over two seasons at South Alabama.
On Sunday, the Vols landed another transfer tight end.
UT-Martin transfer tight end Drake Martinez committed to Tennessee on Sunday afternoon.
Martinez, 6-foot-3/245 pounds from Houston, TX, caught 36 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns over the last two seasons (Martinez played at Houston Christian in 2024).
The former three-star recruit started his career at Colorado State. He was rated as the No. 91 tight end in the 2021 recruiting class.
It’s kind of surprising that Tennessee took another tight end after taking Thomas — Ethan Davis and DaSaahn Brame will serve as the Vols’ top tight end options in 2026 — but the program is likely just looking for added depth. Tennessee, after all, used more three tight end sets last season, often using a backup defensive lineman as a tight end/fullback.
It’s extremely difficult to build depth in college football these days, but Tennessee is making an effort to add as much depth as possible ahead of what’s an important season for Heupel and the Vols.
Tennessee Volunteers News
‘Heupel also pushed the panic button a bit’ – National media outlet doesn’t like Tennessee’s vibes heading into the offseason
The Tennessee Vols have experienced quite a few changes since the end of the 2025 regular season.
