Tennessee football has done a great job retooling its secondary and adding talent for Jim Knowles’ first year as the defensive coordinator. However, one of the top remaining targets, Aaron Scott Jr., is headed elsewhere.
After taking a visit to Knoxville, the Ohio State cornerback transfer has committed to Oregon, according to On3. He had prior connections to both Knowles and Tennessee cornerbacks coach Michael Hunter Jr. from their time at OSU, but it wasn’t enough to seal the deal.
Scott visited the Ducks on Thursday, just ahead of his trip to Tennessee. He was scheduled to arrive in Knoxville on Friday, with the visit supposed to last until Saturday.
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Scott is coming off his sophomore season with Ohio State and will have two years of eligibility remaining. This past season, he appeared in eight games at cornerback off the bench. He recorded nine tackles and a tackle for loss. He also contributed on special teams.
As a freshman, Scott registered defensive snaps in seven games. That included against Tennessee in the College Football Playoffs. He posted two tackles and a pass defended that year. As a recruit, he was considered a five-star prospect by 247 Composite and the No. 36 player in the country.
So far, Tennessee has brought in two cornerbacks through the portal. Auburn starter Kayin Lee was one of the first commits of the portal class. He is expected to be a day-one starter after a productive tenure with the Tigers. On Saturday, Tevis Metcalf also committed, though he is projected to be a reserve piece next season.
UT also returns Ty Redmond. He just finished his true freshman season. Despite a rough start after being thrown into the fire, he finished the year strong and could be an option to reprise his starting role.
Other transfer portal pickups in the secondary include safeties Qua Moss from Kansas State, Dejuan Lane from Penn State and TJ Metcalf from Michigan.
