Tennessee cornerback De’Shawn Rucker entered the transfer portal on Monday morning after spending three seasons in Knoxville, On3 first reported.
#AGTG Thank you Vol nation! pic.twitter.com/8tys3zpyiD
— De’Shawn Rucker (@d_rucker22) December 11, 2023
Rucker was largely a defensive reserve and a special teams player in his three seasons at Tennessee. The speedy cornerback totaled just one tackle in his junior season and 13 total tackles and one pass deflection in his Tennessee tenure.
According to PFF, Rucker played just one defensive snap for Tennessee in 2023, allowing a reception and recording a tackle in the Vols’ win over South Carolina. Rucker played a much bigger role as a sophomore in 2022 while the Vols’ secondary was riddled with injuries. The Tallahassee, Florida native totaled 157 snaps that season and earned a 58.2 PFF grade.
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While Rucker isn’t a massive loss to Tennessee’s secondary due to his smaller role, he joins a long list of Volunteer cornerbacks that have entered the transfer portal this season. Rucker joins Brandon Turnage, Doneiko Slaughter, Warren Burrell and Jack Luttrell in the portal.
Slaughter is the only one of those defensive backs that had a major role on Tennessee’s defense last season. However, the number of cornerbacks the Vols have lost puts them at a precarious depth situation.
Tennessee has time to add defensive backs in the transfer portal before the 2024 season but the Vols won’t be able to replenish the roster before their New Years Day bowl game against Iowa. The good news: Iowa boasts one of the nation’s worst passing attacks and will be less equipped to take advantage of Tennessee’s shortcomings at the spot.
Rucker becomes the ninth Tennessee football player to enter the transfer portal this offseason. Keep up with all the Vols’ outgoing transfers with the RTI Transfer Portal tracker here.
