Shaq WigginsSome Southeastern Conference coaches, including Tennessee's Butch Jones, have hesitated in embracing the growing trend of graduate transfers in college football. They don't like the idea of "free agency" in the college game.
But the Volunteers are happy Shaq Wiggins was on the market.
Wiggins, a proven cornerback who played the last two seasons at Louisville, committed to Tennessee in April. After flirting with Mississippi State for a bit last month, Wiggins is enrolled at UT and will be eligible for the 2017 season.
"It's sort of like in the NFL, when they sign a veteran free agent and somebody who can make an immediate impact," Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said at the Big Orange Caravan on Saturday in Chattanooga. "That's what we're hoping."
Wiggins started as a freshman at Georgia in 2013 and made six tackles against Tennessee before following defensive coordinator Todd Grantham to Louisville. He sat out in 2014 under NCAA rules, started for the Cardinals in 2015 and was plagued by injuries as a junior in 2016. With a degree in hand, Wiggins was free to explore graduate-transfer options for this season and decided on the Vols, who are trying to rebound from their 2016 defensive woes.
"You're trying to look at how you can make your team better from a competitive standpoint, and it's just doing your due diligence," Jones said of how the Vols landed Wiggins. "It gets back to recruiting and just looking around and also previous relationships."
The term "competitive depth" is one of many phrases Jones uses on a routine basis in assessments of his football program.
A lack of competitive depth is one of the things Jones pointed to as a reason for his team's 3-4 finish following a 6-0 start in 2016, and the need for it is what makes Wiggins a crucial addition to the Vols' defense.
Injuries, inexperience and inconsistency hurt the Vols at cornerback last season after Cam Sutton, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, suffered an early-season injury. The lack of depth hurt the Vols in games, but it also left the team with less competition in practice.
"To me, when the guys got hurt last year, that's something we kind of lost, that competition," Shoop said. "We have pretty good depth right now of guys competing and not a lot of egos. Really, it's just guys pushing each other to be the best they can."
Justin Martin and Emmanuel Moseley are seniors who return to the cornerback positions with starting experience, while DJ Henderson, Marquill Osborne and Baylen Buchanan also return in 2017. Cheyenne Labruzza, Terrell Bailey and Shawn Shamburger are entering as freshmen corners.
Wiggins, 23, will have the most starting experience of any player in the group.
"Justin Martin really did have a great spring," Shoop said. "We have tremendous confidence in Emmanuel Moseley, but obviously he got hurt in the spring and we're not 100 percent sure of his timetable. So acquiring Shaq was really a significant move for our defense."
The quarterback competition between Jarrett Guarantano and Quinten Dormady is a hot topic this offseason, but just like with quarterbacks, a team needs competition in the secondary, Jones said.
"Not just at the corner position but at the safety position as well," he said. "A lot of your special teams are predicated around that position group as well on the back end of your defense. I'm excited about our secondary, and to add an individual like (Wiggins), that's exciting."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.