New Vols WR Amari Jefferson confirms suspicion about his interest in playing baseball at Tennessee
The Tennessee Vols made a big transfer portal addition earlier this month by landing Alabama Crimson Tide transfer wide receiver Amari Jefferson. Jefferson, a former four-star recruit who signed with Alabama during the 2024 recruiting cycle, was committed to Tennessee to play baseball before eventually signing with the Crimson Tide. The Chattanooga native didn't see […]
The Tennessee Vols made a big transfer portal addition earlier this month by landing Alabama Crimson Tide transfer wide receiver Amari Jefferson.
Jefferson, a former four-star recruit who signed with Alabama during the 2024 recruiting cycle, was committed to Tennessee to play baseball before eventually signing with the Crimson Tide.
The Chattanooga native didn't see any action for Alabama in 2024 while playing for a coach (Kalen DeBoer) that didn't recruit him (Nick Saban retired after Jefferson signed), which means he has four seasons of eligibility remaining.
Will Amari Jefferson play baseball at Tennessee?
As soon as Jefferson committed to Tennessee, speculation started about whether he'll play baseball for the Vols.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reported this week that there's mutual interest between Jefferson and Tennessee in playing baseball at UT.
Jefferson joined Off the Hook Sports on Thursday and he confirmed that he's interested in playing baseball at Tennessee, but he noted that it won't be an option for him in 2024 as he's still recovering from a hip procedure that he underwent this past season.
"Yeah, definitely, it's been my life long dream to play both," said Jefferson. "It's really going to be about time and time management. Just really seeing how my hip [recovers], because I got about a month left of rehab. I definitely wouldn't be ready to go this season, but definitely just seeing how the rest of my hip healing goes. Which we're on track and it's going smooth. But I've already had contact with the baseball coaches. So I think it'll be something that when I get up there (to Tennessee) that we'll figure out the scheduling and if we can make it work."
"I definitely would love to [play baseball at Tennessee]," continued Jefferson. "Baseball was my first love. It's the first sport I ever played. I've been playing it since I was four. So definitely I want to play both. It's really just about if we can make it work."
Hopefully Tennessee and Jefferson are able to figure out a way to make it work. We don't get to see as many (if any) multi-sport athletes at the collegiate level as we did in the 1990s, 2000s, and even early 2010s. It would certainly be fun to watch Jefferson patrol center field in the spring and catch touchdowns in the fall on Rocky Top.
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