Tennessee reserve offensive lineman plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

Tennessee Football redshirt freshman offensive lineman Ayden Bussell is entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, Bussell told Volquest on Friday afternoon. The 6-foot-5, 314-pound Bussell is a former three-star in-state recruit from Mt. Juliet High School who spent the last two seasons with the Vols.

Bussell was ranked No. 858 overall in the 2023 recruiting class. He was the No. 83 interior offensive lineman and the No. 24 overall prospect in the state of Tennessee. 

Bussell is the fourth Tennessee player to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal during the spring window, following quarterback Nico Iamaleava, defensive back Christian Charles and defensive back John Slaughter. 

Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions last season, his first and only season as Tennessee’s starting quarterback. Charles, a redshirt senior, had 71 tackles in 30 career games with the Vols. Slaughter, a junior from Mississippi, had six tackles in 23 games over the last two seasons.

Understanding the NCAA Transfer Portal

The spring portal window opened on Wednesday and will remain open until Friday, April 25.

Players don’t have to pick a school they are going to during those specific dates but those are the span of dates on when a player can enter the portal.

Those dates don’t apply to graduate transfers who can enter the portal whenever they wish. Also, if there’s a head coaching change, players can enter the portal outside of those dates.

Vols have benefitted from the NCAA Transfer Portal

The transfer portal can both give and take away. For Josh Heupel it was more of a positive than a negative for the Vols when looking back at the 2024 season. 

Left tackle Lance Heard helped the Vols rush for over 2,700 yards. Tight end Miles Kitselman has been a terrific portal addition as the leader of the tight end room and has emerged as Tennessee’s best tight end in 2024. 

Defensively, Jermod McCoy was the best transfer Tennessee added. McCoy had an All American season in his first season with the Vols.

In total, Tennessee added 10 transfers to the 2024 roster. To date, Tennessee has added two offensive linemen, Wendall Moe and Sam Pendleton, along with running back Star Thomas in this portal cycle.

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