A fourth safety addition.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before — Tennessee picked up a transfer portal commitment on Saturday.
DJ Burks, a local product, will come home and play his final season of college football in Knoxville. Burks visited Tennessee on Thursday, finding a fit just over the state border.
Burks attended nearby Maryville High School where he won a state title as a sophomore. The 6-0, 200 pound safety was a two-year starter for Appalachian State, totaling 133 tackles. In 2025, his final season with the Mountaineers, Burks picked off two passes and was credited with five passes defensed.
Burks is the fourth safety to commit to Tennessee during this transfer portal cycle. Safety was perhaps the weakest spot on the entire roster following the loss of Andre Turrentine, and Jim Knowles quickly fixed it up. His three safety looks will now feature a legitimately deep rotation, with Qua Moss, Edrees Farooq, TJ Metcalf, Dejaun Lane and now DJ Burks.
Knowles will undoubtedly move all of these pieces around, with potential to play some nickel/STAR.
Tennessee also added Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee, who is expected to start across from Ty Redmond. The Volunteers could use some more competitive depth there, which is something they’ve continued to explore in the portal.
One of their targets, Aaron Scott from Ohio State, committed to Oregon earlier this afternoon.
Slowly but surely, Tennessee’s work in the portal is finishing up. They still need to find a quarterback for depth, which could end up being Ryan Staub, who is coming in for a visit on Sunday. Defensive line depth is another place where Tennessee could continue to add.
Category: General Sports
