KNOXVILLE — Freshman tailback Derrell Scott is looking to transfer from Tennessee, coach Butch Jones said during a radio interview Friday afternoon.
Scott and freshman defensive end Dewayne Hendrix were not at practice last weekend when the Volunteers started preparing for the Taxslayer Bowl, and Jones said Monday a couple of unnamed players were “trying to sort out” their respective futures with the program.
During an interview with Knoxville radio station WNML on Friday, Jones specifically addressed Scott and Hendrix, two four-star recruits who were part of Tennessee’s touted 2014 signing class.
“Derrell Scott, I believe, is probably going to look to enroll somewhere else at another institution,” the coach said.
Jones added that Hendix is “going through some things right now,” and his status for the bowl game is uncertain.
The 5-foot-11, 194-pound Scott played in just two games during an injury-riddled first semester in Knoxville. He made his debut with 42 yards on nine carries against UT-Chattanooga and carried twice for minus-2 yards in the fourth quarter of Tennessee’s blowout loss at Ole Miss in mid-October.
His preseason development was stunted by a foot injury in August, and he wasn’t available for the Vols down the stretch with a hand injury that had him in a hard cast and unable to carry the football.
The Charlotte-area resident piled up 6,145 rushing yards and 87 touchdows runs during his high school career.
The Vols are losing senior Marlin Lane after this season and have two running backs — former Alabama freshman and junior college transfer Alvin Kamara and Concord (N.C.) product Rocky Reid — committed for 2015. Kamara is expected to enroll next month. Tennessee is looking to add a third back.
Scott would be the second of three running backs Tennessee signed in 2014 to leave the program. Jalen Hurd was Tennessee’s leading rusher this season, but Treyvon Paulk was dismissed from the program after an alleged domestic incident in September. Second-year walk-on Justus Pickett got 22 carries this season.
The 6-foot-4, 275-pound Hendrix recorded just two tackles in seven games. He played in five of the season’s final seven games as a reserve behind fellow freshman Derek Barnett, Curt Maggitt, Corey Vereen and LaTroy Lewis.
“That just happens,” Jones said. “That’s the world of football. We’re here to help these players, and if they feel they have a better opportunity to play somewhere else or go somewhere else, we’re going to help them.
“That’s just the world of college football. When you sign an inordinate amount of numbers in a very, very large signing class, those type of things happen. We’re very appreciative of what they’ve done for our football program, and we’ll help them any way we can.”
Tennessee lost another freshman defensive end from its 2014 in Joe Henderson, who will not return next semester due to an NCAA-related academic issue.
Jones said freshman defensive tackle Michael Sawyers, a Nashville-area resident who played in three games this season but hasn’t been practicing the past few weeks, is expected to practice for the Taxslayer Bowl.
“We’ve set some standards,” the coach said, “and some expectations that must be met for him to continue to move forward.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com