PICK SIX: Ex-Tennessee players head list of impact transfers

Updated Aug. 18, 2021 2:35 a.m. ET

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Tennessee hasn’t finished a season ranked higher than 22nd since 2007, yet there still figures to be a heavy Volunteer flavor to the playoff picture this year.

Or to put it more accurately, an ex-Volunteer flavor.

While the transfer portal was particularly active during the most recent offseason, no team lost more star power than Tennessee,

Three teams ranked in the top 10 of The

No. 1 Alabama landed ex-Tennessee linebacker Henry To’o To’o. Running back Ty Chandler transferred from Tennessee to No. 10 North Carolina.

But the Tennessee presence is most notable at No. 2 Oklahoma.

“Definitely for me as a running back, the history of the ‘RBU,’ so many great running backs came through here, the history of the offense at Oklahoma, just the OU program in general, I was definitely attracted to it from day one,” Gray said. “Once I got to the transfer portal, I kind of knew Oklahoma was the school I wanted to go to.”

There are a number of transfers who should make an impact this season and it's no surprise this list features a couple of former Tennessee players:

NOTRE DAME QB JACK COAN (WISCONSIN)

for No. 9 Notre Dame’s Sept. 5 season opener at Florida State. Coan made 18 starts for Wisconsin from 2018-19, but he

OKLAHOMA RB ERIC GRAY (TENNESSEE)

Gray rushed for 772 yards and also caught 30 passes for 254 yards in nine games last season. He rushed for 539 yards as a freshman in 2019. He closed the 2019 season by

KENTUCKY QB WILL LEVIS (PENN STATE)

for Kentucky’s Sept. 4 season opener with Louisiana-Monroe. Levis appeared in 15 games for Penn State and went 61 of 102 for 644 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Kentucky might not be the only SEC East team handing its starting quarterback job to someone who arrived by transfer this offseason. Tennessee’s quarterback competition includes Michigan transfer Joe Milton and Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker, as well as Harrison Bailey.

FLORIDA STATE QB McKENZIE MILTON (UCF)

Milton is a two-time American Athletic Conference offensive player of the year who finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 2017 and sixth in 2018, but he suffered ligament, nerve and artery damage to his knee in November 2018 and hasn’t played in a game since. Milton, who won his last 24 starts at UCF,

GEORGIA DB TYKEE SMITH (WEST VIRGINIA)

Smith was a

ALABAMA LB HENRY TO’O TO’O (TENNESSEE)

To’o To’o was a

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Eric Gray

Jack Coan

Kennedy Brooks

Jordan Travis

Ty Chandler

Will Levis

Joe Milton III

Derion Kendrick

Hendon Hooker

Kentucky Wildcats

Oklahoma Sooners

Alabama Crimson Tide

Tennessee Volunteers

Penn State Nittany Lions

Wisconsin Badgers

North Carolina Tar Heels