Examining the Status of Tennessee’s Defensive Back Room Amidst Slew of Outgoing Transfers
Six Tennessee football defensive backs have entered the transfer portal since the regular season concluded, leaving the Vols’ secondary extremely thin as they prepare for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against Iowa on January 1.
More importantly, with no defensive backs having committed to Tennessee via the portal as of December 11 and a few other key pieces having no eligibility remaining, there isn’t much depth when looking ahead to next year.
Of the six defensive backs to have transferred out, four saw meaningful time in 2022, and two were starters to end the season.
Cornerbacks Warren Burrell and Brandon Turnage were rotational guys in Tennessee’s backend, while STAR Tamarion McDonald started every game he played. Doneiko Slaughter only started in six games due to an early-season injury but was a top two cornerback for Tennessee in five of the final six games due to Kamal Hadden’s season-ending injury against Alabama.
The other two, Jack Luttrell and De’Shawn Rucker, saw little to no time in 2023, but Rucker would’ve likely made more of an impact had he have been healthy all season long.
Outside of Luttrell, who was a freshman in 2023, Tennessee is losing 21 years of college experience among the other five defensive backs. Furthermore, safety Jaylen McCollough and cornerback Kamal Hadden are out of eligibility and won’t be returning in 2024.
Adding their years of experience into the equation, Tennessee is losing 31 years of experience in their DB room.
With that amount of bodies and experience gone from Tennessee’s secondary, let’s see what’s left.
Experienced Players Who Could Return:
CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally:
Jeudy-Lally stepped up when Hadden went down in the second half of the season. The former Vanderbilt Commodore and BYU Cougar started in nine games at cornerback and saw time in every game. Jeudy-Lally is, as of right now, the top cornerback on Tennessee’s roster heading into 2024 should he return for his sixth and final year of eligibility.
*Note: Jeudy-Lally went through senior day festivities
S Wesley Walker
Like Jeudy-Lally, Walker will be a sixth-year senior next year should he return. As a starting safety in 2023, Walker was one of Tennessee’s top defensive backs and would figure to be a top option at safety for the Vols once again in 2024.
*Note: Walker went through senior day festivities
S Andre Turrentine
Turrentine has far less experience than Walker and Jeudy-Lally, but he’ll be entering his fourth season of college ball as a redshirt-junior having spent his last two at Tennessee.
The former Ohio State Buckeye has only started one game for Tennessee (2023 vs. Georgia due to injuries), but he was a solid rotational piece in 2023 and could see an expanded role next year considering Tennessee’s depth.
DB Christian Charles
Charles will be entering his fourth season (true senior season barring medical redshirt) in 2024 coming off an injury-riddled 2023 campaign that saw him play in just two games (Virginia and Austin Peay).
Charles has spent time at both cornerback and safety in his Tennessee career and has never become a consistent starter for the Vols, starting just seven total games.
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