On Wednesday, Tennessee football signed one of the best 2026 recruiting classes in the country. Now that the high school aspect is wrapped up, Josh Heupel and the Vols can begin to turn their attention to the transfer portal.
Heupel won’t be able to truly attack the portal until it opens on Jan. 2, but he has a plan in place. During his press conference on Wednesday, he didn’t want to reveal his whole hand, but he did give an insight into what the process will look like. He’s finishing up exit interviews with the current roster to help get a look at what he’ll need to bring in.
“I wouldn’t say anything as of right now, but certainly here over the coming days and weeks, we will look hard at that,” Heupel said. “We’re finishing up exit interviews with our current players now and then be ready to attack that when it comes.”
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The timing of this transfer portal window is a positive to Heupel. It’s giving him the ability to sign his entire high school class before assessing what areas need to be filled in.
That’s seemingly been the mentality for the coach since he got to Tennessee. He’s primarily used high school recruiting and development to fill his roster, then gone to the portal to fill in the gaps. At times, this has meant grabbing stars, while other times it’s been to add depth.
“It’s different this cycle,” Heupel said. “Just the timing of the portal in general. I think it’s a positive for us. We’ll look at what we signed in this class, what we have coming back and then attack the portal. How we continue to grow our roster to be ready to go compete and win a championship.”
Tennessee signed 28 players in the 2026 class on Wednesday. The group is considered one of the better classes in college football, no matter the recruiting service you pick. On 247, it’s up to the No. 3 class, while on Rivals, it’s at No. 9. Both 247 Composite and Rivals Industry have it at No. 7.
So far, three players have announced their intention to enter the transfer portal out of UT. This features defensive back Boo Carter, defensive tackle Jamal Wallace and edge rusher Kellen Lindstrom.
