Spring practices have officially wrapped up, which means it’s time for another round of portalling. The transfer portal reopened on Monday and will stay open until the end of April, giving athletes a chance to see how the spring period went.
For Elijah Herring, the choice seemed to be simple. The 11-game starter from a year ago will hit the transfer portal following the return of veteran linebacker Keenan Pili, who Herring filled in for last season.
Herring made the announcement on Monday night.
Herring ended up leading Tennessee with 80 tackles last season, with four tackles for loss.
Herring will be a junior this fall with two seasons left to play. His decision makes sense with the emergence of Jeremiah Telander, who has received a ton of praise for his development this spring. Big-time recruit Arion Carter will be returning from injury, while true freshman Edwin Spillman generated some buzz this spring as well.
Tennessee still has Kalib Perry, Jalen Smith and Jordan Burns to round out the depth chart. They’ll be replacing steady veteran Aaron Beasley this fall, but the staff seems pleased with the development of their younger players behind Pili to this point.
Elijah’s younger brother Caleb remains with Tennessee. The former four-star prospect will be a sophomore this season, filling a rotational role behind edge rushers James Pearce and Joshua Josephs.
Wright really came into his own over the last two seasons, developing into Tennessee’s most explosive runner. As a junior, Wright put up an eye-popping 7.4 yards per carry, which ranked second in the FBS. He went over 1,000 yards this past season, building on his 875 yards from 2022. Obviously those numbers would be a lot higher if he were not splitting time with Jabari Small and Dylan Sampson.
The 5-10 back really bulked up during his time in Knoxville, now weighing in at 210 pounds. That added weight clearly didn’t affect his explosiveness or speed, as Wright clocked in with a 4.38 in the 40 yard dash. Wright had fumbling issues during his first two seasons, but he put those behind him in 2023.
A former overlooked three-star prospect, Wright has the full attention of the NFL. He should come off the board at some point on Friday night, and the Raiders (lost Josh Jacobs) or the Cowboys (lost Tony Pollard) make a lot of sense as a potential landing spot.
The 2024 NFL Draft is set to begin on Thursday, April 25th and will run through Saturday, April 27th.
