Linebacker Henry To’o To’o, a former SEC All-Freshman pick who has played 22 games in the past two seasons, and three other Tennessee players entered the transfer portal on Wednesday.
Backline Eric Gray, linebacker Quavaris Crouch and offensive linebacker Jahmir Johnson also entered the portal.
It comes two days after head coach Jeremy Pruitt was sacked amid an investigation into what UT chancellor Donde Plowman said were ‘serious violations of NCAA rules’.
Assistant coaches Brian Niedermeyer and Shelton Felton were also sacked, along with four members of the campus staff, the director and assistant director of soccer staff and a soccer analyst / quality control coach.
Kevin Steele, who was appointed assistant coach on January 12, was appointed interim coach after the dismissal of Pruitt.
To’o To’o, a sophomore, started all ten games last season and led the team with 76 tackles and 10 tackles to lose. A former four-star prospect from California, he signed with Tennessee in 2019 over Alabama, Utah, USC and Washington.
Crouch, a North Carolina sophomore, started every game last season and finished third in the team in tackles last season with 57.
Gray, a sophomore from Memphis, ranked as one of the best backs in Tennessee in 2020, ranking sixth in the SEC in running yards per game (85.8) and sixth in the yards of scrum per game (114.0).
Johnson is a senior red shirt, but could take advantage of the NCAA’s decision to allow an extra year for fall and winter sports athletes.