Wide receiver Amari Jefferson committed to Tennessee football out of the transfer portal on Tuesday.
The Alabama transfer is a crucial addition for the Vols, who lost five receivers to the portal in December.
Jefferson took a redshirt in 2024 after not playing at Alabama. He entered the portal after the Crimson Tide lost to Michigan 19-13 in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Jefferson was pursued heavily by the Vols while in high school. The Chattanooga native was a four-star recruit ranked No. 212 in the nation by 247Sports Composite, which also had him ranked as No. 35 wide receiver in the 2024 class. He was ranked the No. 5 recruit in the state of Tennessee.
The 6-foot, 197-pounder was a standout at Baylor School in Chattanooga. He chose Alabama over Georgia and Tennessee out of high school. He also originally committed to play baseball at Tennessee in 2021 before he started getting recruiting heavily for football. Coach Josh Heupel offered Jefferson in July 2022.
Jefferson took a handful of visits to Tennessee in the spring and summer before committing to legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban in August 2023. Saban announced his retirement on Jan. 10, 2024.
Jefferson was named TSSAA Division II-AAA Mr. Football in 2023 after recording 1,401 yards and 20 touchdowns on 74 receptions as a senior. He logged 73 catches for 1,258 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior when he led Baylor to the the Division II-AAA state championship.
Tennessee is trying to reload its receiving corps. Squirrel White, Kaleb Webb, Chas Nimrod, Nathan Leacock and walk-on Nate Spillman entered the portal. The Vols must replace all three starting wide receivers in 2025 with White in the portal and Bru McCoy and Dont’e Thornton exhausting their eligibility.
Jefferson joins a 2025 receiver group of three returners (Chris Brazzell, Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley) and three incoming freshmen (Joakim Dodson, Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith).
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
