Former Tennessee football backup center William Satterwhite isn’t leaving Knoxville without taking a shot at Vols head coach Josh Heupel. After committing to LSU, he has posted a photo on his Instagram story of photoshop of Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin shoving Heupel into a locker. The post tagged outgoing transfer Lance Heard, who is headed to Kentucky, as well.
This came after it was reported that LSU was set to sign Arizona State quarterback transfer Sam Leavitt over Tennessee. However, hours later, more reports came out that the Vols were not backing off of Leavitt and preparing to up their offer to the No. 1-ranked transfer in the cycle.
Along with Satterwhite, former five-star recruit and rising junior edge rusher Jordan Ross is headed to Baton Rouge to join Kiffin and company. Tennessee has landed former Tigers offensive tackle Ory Williams, though.
Photo via @satterwhite50vx_ on his Instagram story (1/12/2026)
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The two sides are going to meet on the gridiron this year, as well. The matchup between Tennessee and LSU is scheduled for Nov. 21, 2026. It will be the penultimate game of the regular season in Kiffin’s first season in Baton Rouge. Kiffin, of course, was the UT head coach for just one season before an unpopular exit in 2009.
Satterwhite will have three years of eligibility with LSU. While he served as the backup center with the Vols, it appears he may be on track to contribute at guard next season, instead.
He was in a center competition with Sam Pendleton ahead of the season, but lost to the incoming Notre Dame transfer. He would only see the field in a reserve role after a rare injury or late in blowouts.
Satterwhite played in eight games this past season, none of which were starts. He ended the year with a PFF grade of 48.9 over the course of 137 snaps.
The reserve center got SEC action against Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky and Florida. The most snaps between that quartet of games were 19 against the Razorbacks, in which he had a grade of 58.0.
