Vols add veteran Offensive Tackle John Campbell from transfer portal
For the third time today, Tennessee has dipped into the transfer portal to add to its 2023 roster. Veteran offensive tackle John Campbell announced his decision to choose the Vols over Florida State and Miami moments ago on social media.
I stood tall I kept my head high they tried to burry me but im back nie 🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍 #SBG #OTG🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍🦍 pic.twitter.com/ZKYvkfET1j
— John Campbell #LLL (@_jcamp74) January 10, 2023
What Campbell brings to Rocky Top
Campbell will bring a veteran presence to a position group looking for someone to step up heading into the spring following the loss of multi-year offensive tackle starter Darnell Wright to the NFL Draft. The coveted transfer played in 33 games at Miami with 17 starts. While Campbell has worked primarily at left tackle for the majority of his career, he earned a start at right tackle and left guard early on during his Hurricane career.
Campbell, a former three-star in the 2018 class, started at left tackle this season for the Hurricanes after seeing plenty of action as a redshirt freshman and sophomore in 2019-2020. The tackle missed the entirety of the 2021 campaign recovering from leg surgery. Campbell will use his sixth-year of college eligibility in hopes of achieving team success and building his draft stock on Rocky Top.
The group Campbell joins on Rocky Top
Following the 2022 season, Tennessee lost two multi-year starters in Darnell Wright and Jerome Carvin on the offensive line. While Campbell’s addition will primarily alleviate the loss of Wright, it can also help with Carvin’s departure, as it could allow Tennessee to cross-train others at guard if needed.
In the tackle group, Campbell will work alongside Gerald Mincey and Jeremiah Crawford, who both earned starts during the 2022 campaign, while also being joined by veteran Dayne Davis, incoming Texas transfer Andrej Karic, touted freshman Sham Umarov and second-year tackle Brian Grant.
Plenty of transfer portal action on Monday
Campbell gave Tennessee their third transfer commitment of the day, joining former Oregon wide receiver Dont’e Thornton and former Arizona State defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott.
Before the incoming transfer fireworks got started, veteran linebacker Juwan Mitchell entered the transfer portal, marking his departure from Knoxville.
Thornton, On3’s 92nd-best available prospect in the portal, detailed his decision to choose the Vols with Volquest’s Austin Price. Ultimately, his relationship with Kelsey Pope and the appeal of Tennessee’s vertically attacking offense allowed the Vols to outlast Arkansas and Miami.
Norman-Lott, after a second stint in the transfer portal, could no longer resist the opportunity to play for Rodney Garner on Rocky Top. Norman-Lott will join a defensive line group that served as a bright spot in Tennessee’s rush defense this fall.
