Tennessee's losses are Mississippi's gains in the dizzying world of the NCAA transfer portal.
The top two portal departures for the Volunteers in recent days, defensive end Tyler Baron and safety Tamarion McDonald, announced Saturday that they would play their fifth-year senior seasons for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. Baron and McDonald are 2020 Tennessee signees who combined for 89 appearances and 32 starts during their stints in Knoxville.
Ole Miss also has obtained commitments from former Oklahoma safety Key Lawrence and former Florida edge rusher Princely Umanmielen. Lawrence signed with Tennessee in 2020 and played one season for the Vols before transferring to the Sooners, while Umanmielen led this season's Gators with 11.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks and 17 quarterback hurries.
Kiffin this past Thursday praised The Grove Collective, which is the Ole Miss-exclusive program for name, image and likeness (NIL).
"This is where we are in college football and college sports, but especially college football," Kiffin said in a news conference. "I know how important it is, and they've done a great job in putting us in position to have success next year."
According to On3Sports.com, The Grove Collective surpassed $10 million in fundraising late last month. Ole Miss had eight transfer commitments as of Saturday evening, with Kiffin's Rebels also in the mix for former Texas A&M defensive tackle Walter Nolen and former South Carolina receiver Antwane "Juice" Wells.
Another former Tennessee defensive back, Doneiko Slaughter, announced Saturday that he was committing to Arkansas. Slaughter played in 42 career games for the Vols with 14 starts.
There have been several Southeastern Conference quarterbacks who have entered the portal in recent days, most notably Auburn's Robby Ashford, Georgia's Brock Vandagriff, Mississippi State's Will Rogers, Vanderbilt's AJ Swann and Ken Seals, and KJ Jefferson of Arkansas. Vandagriff quickly committed to Kentucky, while Rogers is heading to Washington.
Vols land Thomas
Tennessee on Saturday evening received a commitment from Jakobe Thomas, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety who was a redshirt sophomore this season at Middle Tennessee State. Thomas was second on the Blue Raiders with 71 tackles, and he also had five pass breakups and three tackles for loss.
Thomas, who played at Tullahoma High School, will have two seasons of eligibility with the Vols.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.