One of Tennessee football’s contributing linebackers from last season has reportedly stepped away from the program. On Friday morning, VolQuest reported that Ben Bolton left the team heading into spring practice.
Bolton played four seasons with the Vols, but had one more season of eligibility remaining. In 2025, he contributed off the bench for William Inge’s position group under defensive coordinator Tim Banks. Though Banks was fired after the year, Inge remains on staff to lead the linebackers.
Last season, Bolton posted 18 tackles in 12 games. In 2024, he played in 10 games, mostly on special teams, notching five tackles. 2023 saw him play 13 games, mostly special teams, and in 2022, he played in four games, earning a redshirt.
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Inge detailed why he had the trust to play Bolton in big games during the 2025 season.
“Ben Bolton has really endured what we call the battle of the Navy SEAL, where we put him through a lot of instruction, a lot of testing, and a lot of pressure,” Inge said. “And he’s come out on the backside of that showing that from a leadership standpoint, he understands how to lead our defense.
“But also from a performance and production standpoint, he knows how to drive the defense and put our defense in a scenario where he’s not an inefficient player when he’s on the field. So with that, he’s gained our trust. And that’s why on my end, I don’t think twice about putting him in the game.”
Bolton is from Memphis, Tennessee, out of Lausanne Collegiate School. He was on the Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The Vols have plenty of depth at linebacker even with the departure of Bolton, though. Tennessee boasts the likes of returners Arion Carter, Edwin Spillman, Jadon Perlotte, Jeremiah Telander, Jaedon Harmon and Jordan Burns. UT also reeled in Penn State transfer Amare Campbell and signed two elite freshmen, Brayden Rouse and TJ White.
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