Former Tennessee cornerback De’Shawn Rucker committed to South Florida on Christmas Day after entering the transfer portal earlier this month.
At South Florida, Rucker will play for former Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh who just finished a highly successful first season in Tampa. After going 1-11 in 2022, the Bulls posted a 7-6 record this past season with a bowl victory. Rucker played three seasons in Knoxville and has one-year of eligibility remaining at USF.
Rucker was largely a defensive reserve and a special teams player in his three seasons at Tennessee. The speedy cornerback totaled just one tackle during the 2023 season and 13 total tackles and one pass deflection in his Tennessee tenure.
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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.
Rucker is one of seven Tennessee defensive backs that have entered the transfer portal this month including cornerbacks Doneiko Slaughter, Brandon Turnage and Warren Burrell. Slaughter is the only one of the four cornerbacks that played a major role for the Vols this fall though Turnage was a depth piece.
With the four corners entering the transfer portal before Tennessee’s Citrus Bowl matchup against Iowa, veteran Gabe Jeudy-Lally and freshman Rickey Gibson III are in line to see the majority of reps in the bowl game.
