Former Tennessee Vols EDGE Tyler Baron had an adventurous transfer portal experience following his decision to leave UT after the 2023 season.

Baron, a fifth round selection by the New York Jets in the 2025 NFL Draft, spent four seasons at Tennessee before finishing his career with the Miami Hurricanes in 2024.

The former Vol actually landed at two different schools after entering the portal before joining Miami’s roster.

Tyler Baron discusses his transfer portal experience

Baron appeared on Rock Media’s Game Night this week and discussed his transfer portal experience.

The former Vol hinted at being lied to during the transfer process.

“Obviously, I made a decision to go somewhere,” said Baron. “And just when it got down to it, it just wasn’t sitting right with me. I felt like I was doing it for the wrong reasons. So obviously I switched and pivoted, and then when I got there, just certain things that got me there, it turned out it was cap, man. So that’s how I ended up at the U.”

Baron didn’t directly name any schools or coaches, but we can look at his timeline and piece things together pretty easily.

The Tennessee native initially signed with the Ole Miss Rebels, coached at that time by Lane Kiffin, in December 2023.

Baron, though, didn’t stick around at Ole Miss for long before re-entering the portal and landing at Louisville. After going through spring practice with Louisville, Baron entered the portal again and eventually ended up at Miami.

Based on Baron’s comments, it sounds like the school where he felt like he was transferring for “the wrong reasons” was Ole Miss. And the school where certain things were “cap” (lies) was Louisville, where Jeff Brohm was and still is the head coach (that’s a tough look for Brohm).

Baron’s exit from Louisville was ugly, with a reporter suggesting that he had been kicked off the team before publicly retracting his remarks. At the time, there were rumors that the NIL situation was a mess at Louisville (which would line up with Baron’s claim that things he was told were “cap”).

Every portal situation is different, and every school and coach handles things differently, but Baron’s remarks are a reminder of how careful athletes need to be when transferring — there’s a lot of false promises being made.