Who will play football for Tennessee in 2024 and who might not?
Even though the regular season is ended, things are really hectic right now.
With a commanding victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday, Tennessee completed their regular season. And now things start to go crazy. In addition to the early signing period and coaching carousel, the crucial transfer portal window will open.
This implies that you must have a rough notion of your scholarship amounts, and things get trickier as we continue to hash out the NCAA’s COVID-year regulation. It’s not as simple as choosing an NFL team right now. You have three options: go pro, hit the portal, or come back for a free year as a senior. In order for coaches to prepare their rosters for the upcoming season, all of that needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
“Huge implications on what you’re gonna be as you move forward as a program,” Josh Heupel said of the next few weeks. “So, yes, there’s a lot going on all at one time. High school, portal, your players, all of it. And you gotta manage it all. You gotta have a great staff that communicates at a really high level and do the right things, make the right decisions.”
While it doesn’t always mean everything, you can get an idea of where things stand based off of who does — or who does not — participate in Senior Day festivities. For Tennessee, that means who does or does not run through the T for the final time.
For those seniors who don’t, that a pretty solid indicator that they’re leaning towards returning.
Tennessee players that DID NOT participate in Senior Day festivities
(All have a final season of eligibility)
C Cooper Mays
OG Jackson Lampley
OG Javontez Spraggins
OT Dayne Davis