Former Tennessee offensive lineman Ayden Bussell committed to West Virginia football Sunday night just over two weeks after entering the transfer portal.
Bussell spent two seasons at Tennessee as a reserve offensive guard. The Mount Juliet, Tennessee native didn’t play while redshirting in his true freshman season. Bussell played limited snaps in Tennessee’s blowout wins over Chattanooga, Kent State and UTEP during the 2024 season.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound lineman totaled 62 offensive snaps during his second college season, earning a 72.4 PFF grade. With Tennessee losing starting offensive guards Andrej Karic and Javontez Spraggins to graduation, Bussell could have potentially earned a bigger role in his redshirt sophomore season.
However, Tennessee added guards Wendell Moe and Sam Pendleton out of the transfer portal making it unlikely that Bussell would start. After spring practice, Bussell decided to enter the portal and explore options elsewhere.
More From RTI: Tennessee Offers 2027 Four-Star Quarterback From Louisiana
A member of Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class, Bussell ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 851 player in the country according to the 247sports composite rankings. He also ranked as the No. 28 prospect in the state of Tennessee.
Bussell joins a West Virginia program that’s trying to rediscover its juice under new head coach Rich Rodriguez. The Mountaineers went 6-7 last season, firing Neal Brown after six seasons as head coach. Under Brown’s leadership, West Virginia posted a 37-35 record.
Rodriguez is the most successful head coach in the modern history of West Virginia football from 2001-06. West Virginia posted a 50-24 record in Rodriguez five seasons as head coach including a 22-3 record in his final two seasons before leaving for Michigan.
Bussell was one of six scholarship Tennessee players to enter the transfer portal in the spring window. All six landed at power four schools. Three landed in the Big 12, two landed in the ACC and Nico Iamaleava landed in the Big 10.
