Tennessee football is completely retooling its edge rusher positions after losing key pieces to a lack of eligibility and the transfer portal. One of the departing pieces, though he played in a reserve and special teams role, is LEO Emmanuel Okoye.
While he didn’t get much defensive run with the Vols, he is still garnering interest among SEC programs in the transfer portal. According to his agent, Jason R. N. Beneby, he has already ‘checked in’ with Northwestern, Michigan State and Mississippi State. Next, he will take an official visit to Cal.
Okoye is also apparently receiving interest from Auburn, Syracuse and Western Kentucky, as well.
Emmanuel Okoye update: He’s already checked in with Northwestern, Michigan State, and Mississippi State.
Next up: official visit to Cal.
Interest from Auburn, Syracuse, and Western Kentucky. We’re evaluating fit, opportunity. @_skywalker10
— Jason R. N. Beneby (@JBOYsr) January 15, 2026
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Okoye played for the NFL Academy in Loughborough, United Kingdom, during the fall of 2022, though he is initially from Nigeria. He got to campus as a tight end, but made the switch to defensive end ahead of the 2024 season. A knee injury derailed it, though, forcing him to go into 2025 without a snap played.
However, he became a special teams contributor this past year and joined the LEO room. In eight games, he produced one tackle. He played 15 defensive snaps across three games.
With the LEO room left extremely thin, Tennessee has already landed two transfers at the position. Penn State’s Chaz Coleman and Tulane’s Jordan Norman join the group and are expected to make an immediate impact. Christian Gass will also return after battling through injury as a freshman.
Other names in the room include freshmen Zach Groves, Hezekiah Harris and CJ Edwards. Mike Bethea is also expected to return.
