Tennessee football added a young running back to its room through the transfer portal to compete for reps behind DeSean Bishop in 2026. Javin Gordon, after playing his freshman year at Tulane, picked the Vols out of the portal.
It was a number of things that made Gordon feel like Tennessee was the right choice for him. Perhaps the greatest was his prior connection with UT running backs coach De’Rails Sims. He recruited Gordon out of high school, and that relationship was a great starting point for the portal.
Other factors include being closer to his home in Toccoa, Georgia, and the passionate Tennessee fan base.
“Going back to Coach Sims, the relationship we built in high school,” Gordon said. “Tennessee is a lot closer to home. Kind of somewhere I wanted to be. Just like I said, the fan base. Everbody here made me feel wanted.”
Javin Gordon scored three touchdowns in a single game last year as a freshman for Tulane ⬇️ https://t.co/6fVV6sL5Hj pic.twitter.com/0XseB6wh3L
Advertisement— Ryan Sylvia (@RyanTSylvia) January 17, 2026
More From RTI: How to Pronounce Tennessee Football’s New Running Back, Javin Gordon’s, Name
Gordon played in all 14 games for Tulane this past season, including the College Football Playoffs loss to Ole Miss. He started in six of the appearances, posting a PFF grade of 72.7 on the year.
Now, Gordon is adjusting to Tennessee as he enters his sophomore year. The expectations are high for him, though, given what he did with the Green Wave.
“You look at it, he’s a guy that goes out there and plays early as a freshman, a true freshman in college, on a playoff caliber team, and he did a really good job of starting five games in that season,” Sims said. “He was productive from that standpoint, but you see a guy that has a really high ceiling that is not maxed out from that standpoint. You saw the pass-catching ability out of the backfield, the pass protection ability, the running the football ability, as well. Feeling like from a character standpoint, he was a really good fit that would fit into that room, and he’s done that.”
Tennessee is working its way through spring practice as it counts down to the annual Orange & White Game. That is scheduled for April 11, 2026, and will begin at 2 p.m. ET.
