Greg Emerson enters transfer portal

Another member of the Tennessee football program has opted to place their name in the NCAA transfer portal. Greg Emerson, a former big time in-state recruit, announced his intentions to leave Tennessee over the weekend.

Emerson started nine games for Tennessee as a redshirt freshman in 2019, but failed to make an impact during the 2020 season. Even with a new staff in town, Emerson clearly didn’t see a path to playing time this fall.

In a note posted via Twitter, Emerson explained the move.

“First and foremost I would like to thank god. I would also like to thank the University of Tennessee and Volnation community for supporting me during my few years at UTK. I am thankful for the athletic and academic departments that allowed me to learn both physically and academically.

“I have gained friendship and experiences that will be with me always.

“With that being said I have decided to Officially enter NCAA transfer portal. I look forward to to the journey that I am about to go on and friendships that I will make with my new teammates. 2021 is going to be a season to always remember in this next chapter of my life and I can’t wait to get to work.”

The 6-3, 290 pound defensive tackle is a former top 150 overall recruit, who worked back from a nasty injury during his senior year of high school. That injury kept him from playing early in Knoxville, but he appeared to put his struggles behind him in his second season. However, Emerson fell out of the rotation last season, playing in under 100 snaps during the 2020 slate.

Tennessee has added Caleb Tremblay from USC and Da’Jon Terry from Kansas out of the transfer portal, picking up a couple of pieces of depth as the Vols transition to a new defensive scheme. Matthew Butler, LaTrell Bumphus, Darel Middleton and Aubrey Solomon each figure to return to prominent roles, while Omari Thomas, Dominic Bailey and Elijah Simmons each try to crack the rotation.