College football’s changed landscape was definitely on display Tuesday afternoon as Tennessee held its annual pro day event.
There were 14 former Volunteers who went through various workouts, and only two — defensive lineman Tyre West and edge rusher Joshua Josephs — signed with Tennessee during the Josh Heupel era. Three participants — defensive linemen Dominic Bailey and Bryson Eason and defensive back William Wright — were actually in the program before Heupel’s arrival in January 2021, while nine of the 14 transferred into the program.
Those nine were quarterback Joey Aguilar (Appalachian State), running back Star Thomas (Duke), receiver Chris Brazzell II (Tulane), tight end Miles Kitselman (Alabama), defensive lineman Jaxson Moi (Stanford), and defensive backs Colton Hood (Colorado), Jermod McCoy (Oregon State), Jalen McMurray (Temple) and Andre Turrentine (Ohio State).
“High school guys, portal guys — however you end up here, they’ve seen the fruits of being inside this program,” Heupel said during a news conference. “It’s the physical development and the mental development and how we approach things and how that translates to setting themselves up to have great careers on the back side of their college careers.”
The 2026 NFL draft will be held April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.