Thursday was departure day for a trio of Tennessee Volunteers via the NCAA transfer portal.
Sophomore edge rusher Tyler Baron, redshirt freshman running back Dee Beckwith and redshirt freshman long snapper Will Albright are looking to continue their football careers elsewhere, though a player who enters the portal has the ability to withdraw and remain at his university. Former Tennessee tight end Austin Pope entered the portal in December 2020, withdrew a month later and eventually retired from football last summer due to multiple back surgeries.
Baron easily has been the most productive of the three who entered the portal Thursday.
The 6-foot-5, 260-pounder out of Knoxville Catholic has played in all 23 games the past two years and started the first four games this season before being supplanted by Byron Young. Baron amassed 30 tackles, seven tackles for loss and four sacks for the 7-6 Vols, with his biggest sack transpiring in the fourth quarter of the 45-42 win at Kentucky.
Baron’s freshman season consisted of 21 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack of Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Kyle Trask.