How the next few weeks play out will go a long way toward shaping Tennessee’s 2024 roster, and the process starts with the stay-or-go decisions from a handful of upperclassmen.
Tennessee concluded its 2023 regular season five days ago with a victory against Vanderbilt to finish 8-4, but things are hardly slowing down for the Vols as they await their bowl assignment. The program is now into the roster-management portion of the calendar with players deciding on their futures, the NCAA transfer portal beginning to fill up and December Signing Day coming up, and how the next few weeks play out will shape how Tennessee’s roster looks for the 2024 season. The starting point for the process is the stay-or-go decisions for several seniors and a couple of juniors as their departures or returns could determine how active the Vols need to be in adding players from the portal.
“Massive. Huge implications on what you’re going to be as you move forward as a program,” Vols head coach Josh Heupel said of the next few weeks after the Vanderbilt game. “So yes, there’s a lot going on all at one time. High school, portal, your players, all of it – and you’ve got to manage it all. You’ve got to have a great staff that communicates at a really high level and do the right things, make the right decisions.”
The Vols had a senior-laden roster this season – to go along with more than 30 freshmen as well – and more than half of them have the option to return next season. Many of those players are starters, and while some positions on the roster are set up for the young talent to step into a larger role, others are in greater need of plug-and-play transfers. There are a lot of variables factoring into these decisions – NFL feedback for those considering the draft, NIL possibilities at Tennessee (and elsewhere), how much the Vols want to keep them, recent injuries and more – and no case is the same.
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