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Another day, another Tennessee football starter in the transfer portal. Today, it’s veteran nickel Shawn Shamburger, who had a frustrating 2020 season.
David Ubben had the news this afternoon.
Tennessee defensive back Shawn Shamburger has entered the transfer portal, @TheAthleticCFB has learned.
— David Ubben (@davidubben) January 12, 2021
Shamburger was injured this year and played a few games before leaving the team to focus on academics, Jeremy Pruitt said in midseason.
Shamburger, a senior, only played a handful of games before leaving the team to focus on academics. He also dealt with an injury that kept him out of the first two games of the season. In total, Shamburger was only able to appear in three games — Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky.
He manned a key spot in the Tennessee defense, leaving a big void in the secondary. Jeremy Pruitt tried a few different players in his STAR role, including Key Lawrence and Doneiko Slaughter.
Bryce Thompson has already announced his intentions to enter the NFL Draft, while veteran corner Baylen Buchanan has committed to Louisiana Tech. That leaves Warren Burrell, Alontae Taylor and Kenneth George at cornerback, likely with Lawrence taking over at nickel, if we had to guess today.
Cornerback remains a big need for Tennessee and we would expect the Vols to look around in the transfer portal for some immediate answers.