The Tennessee Vols are reportedly losing a former highly rated recruit to the NCAA transfer portal

The Tennessee Vols are losing a player with a lot of potential to the NCAA transfer portal.

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
Add as preferred source on Google
Tennessee Vols football
Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

The Tennessee Vols are reportedly losing a former four-star offensive lineman to the NCAA transfer portal.

According to a report from CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer, Vols redshirt freshman offensive tackle Bennett Warren is planning to enter the transfer portal when it opens on Friday.

Warren, 6-foot-7/325 pounds from Houston, TX, signed with Tennessee during the 2024 recruiting cycle. He was rated by 247Sports as the No. 7 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 80 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class.

Losing Bennett Warren is a tough blow for Tennessee

Losing Warren isn’t ideal for the Vols. It’s nearly impossible to build offensive line depth in this current era of college football — and moves like this is the main reason why.

The hope for Tennessee is that junior offensive lineman Lance Heard returns in 2026. If Heard returns, it would mean that Warren wouldn’t be in the mix for starting job (former five-star offensive lineman David Sanders Jr will hold down the other starting offensive tackle job for the Vols in 2026).

Heard hasn’t officially announced his plans for the 2026 season yet.

Before the transfer portal era, Warren would’ve simply waited his turn while continuing to develop before finally getting a shot to start.

But there’s a shortage of quality offensive linemen in college football (and the NFL). So backups that aren’t quite ready for a full-time starting role are swiped by other programs who are willing to offer big money.

Warren probably would’ve saw increased playing time at Tennessee in 2026 — depending on health, of course — but it looks like he’ll be taking his talents elsewhere next fall.

Related Articles