A former blue-chip Tennessee recruiting target appears to be looking for a new home and a significant payday. According to a report from On3 Sports’ Pete Nakos, former five-star offensive tackle Jordan Seaton plans to enter the transfer portal. Seaton was the starting left tackle for Deion Sanders’ Colorado program during his first two seasons in Boulder.
Seaton, a five-star product out of IMG Academy, committed to Colorado in Dec. 2023 over a top group that included Tennessee, Oregon, Ohio State, Maryland, Florida, and Alabama.
Tennessee was a late player in Seaton’s original recruitment, which really began ramping up after visits to the South Carolina game and the Georgia game during the 2023 football season. Josh Heupel and his staff were one of the top competitors for Seaton before his announcement, but he decided to take his talents to Sanders’ program instead.
Now on the open market and in a much more chaotic NIL landscape, Seaton will command a massive price tag. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see a major bidding war take place among some of the top programs in the college football landscape. On3 Sports’ Shannon Terry believes that Seaton will “command between $3.5 and $4.0M in this market.”
Despite not being in the portal for long, Seaton has already shot to the top on 247Sports’ transfer rankings. He’s currently listed as a five-star transfer prospect, the No. 4 player in the cycle, and the top-ranked transfer tackle.
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Tennessee lost starting left tackle Lance Heard to the transfer portal this cycle, who ultimately ended up at Kentucky. The Vols also lost rotational and backup linemen such as William Satterwhite and Max Anderson, who landed at LSU and Kentucky, respectively. Tennessee has made an addition to its offensive trenches, though, with the signing of former LSU offensive tackle Ory Williams, who was a four-star prospect on the recruiting trail originally.
With Heard leaving, it makes sense for Tennessee to slide freshman standout David Sanders Jr. into the left tackle void after he played his first season at right tackle. That could allow Jesse Perry to move back to right tackle, which is the position he held for the beginning of the 2025 season while Sanders recovered from an early-season injury. Incoming transfer Ory Williams could also fill that tackle position, allowing Perry to move inside. The Vols have a few things to work out on the offensive line, but do have the pieces to mix and match.
As far as portal activity goes, Tennessee lost safety Kaleb Beasley to the portal on Monday night but landed a commitment from Michigan safety TJ Metcalf on Tuesday morning. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee recruiting and portal coverage.
