Tennessee football is hosting Miami defensive back Jadais Richard on a visit Friday, he confirmed to RTI. Richard has played four years of college football and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Richard is truly a versatile defensive back who has played cornerback, STAR and safety during his first four collegiate seasons. That fits what the Vols need as they retool their defensive backfield and look for more depth entering the 2026 season.
The West Monroe, Louisiana was injured for most of the 2025 season due to injury. Richard returned late in the year but played just 20 total snaps in three games. He started his career at Vanderbilt before transferring to Miami ahead of his sophomore season.
Richard played 203 snaps his freshman season on West End before playing 187 snaps as a sophomore and 405 snaps as a junior at Miami. Over the course of his four year career, Richard’s totaled 52 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one interception and one pass deflection.
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The 6-foot-1, 195-pound defensive back’s best season came in 2024 when he totaled 27 tackles, three pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble.
Tennessee has landed seven defensive backs in the portal to this point in the cycle including Kansas State STAR Qua Moss, Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee, Penn State safety Dejuan Lane, versatile Michigan defensive back TJ Metcalf, Michigan corner Tevis Metcalf, Appalachian State safety DJ Burks and Colorado two-way player Isaiah Hardge.
While a handful of those players will simply provide depth, Moss, Lee, Lane, and TJ Metcalf could all start for Tennessee next season. The Vols also return cornerback Ty Redmond and safety Edrees Farooq who were starters as underclassmen a season ago.
Tennessee boasts transfer commitments from 18 total players. The 11 other commits include Penn State defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam, Penn State edge rusher Chaz Coleman, Penn State linebacker Amare Campbell, LSU offensive tackle Ory Williams, Colorado quarterback Ryan Staub, Tulane running back Javin Gordon, Tulane edge rusher Jordan Norman, West Virginia offensive lineman Donovan Haslam, Louisville kicker Cooper Ranvier, Eastern Kentucky long snapper Blake Howard and South Alabama tight end Trent Thomas.
