Tennessee had eight scholarship players enter the NCAA transfer portal before the College Football Playoff first-round game at Ohio State, and less than 24 hours after the Vols had their season ended by the Buckeyes, another player made public his intentions to hit the portal. Defensive back Christian Harrison, a part-time starter at the Star position early this season, announced via social media on Sunday evening that he intended to enter his name in the transfer database and leave the Vols. Harrison, the son of former Patriots Super Bowl-winning safety and current NBC NFL analyst Rodney Harrison, spent three seasons at Tennessee and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
The transfer portal opened on December 9 and will close on December 28, a deadline that will apply for Tennessee players, who would have had five days after the final game had the Vols won their first-ever CFP game.
Instead Ohio State humbled Tennessee in a 42-17 win at a frigid Ohio Stadium on Saturday night in Columbus.
Harrison played 22 snaps and made two tackles in the game.
He announced his decision to hit the portal with a graphic posted on social media that said:
“Thank you to the man above for blessing me with everything, without Him I am nothing.
“Also, thank you to the Tennessee fans for all the support.
“With that being said, I will be entering my name in the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility remaining. — CH”
The 6-foot-1, 191-pound Harrison played in 12 games in 2024 and started four of the first five games of the season, stepping in for Jourdan Thomas after the projected starter at Star suffered a season-ending knee injury in preseason camp. But freshman Boo Carter eventually took over the starting job at the nickel spot in Tennessee’s defense and had a productive stretch. Harrison missed the overtime win against Florida after getting banged up in the loss at Arkansas, and that opened the door for Carter to become the primary option at Star.
Harrison finished the season with 20 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup.
In 25 career games for the Vols, Harrison had 31 tackles and three tackles for loss, redshirting last season after playing in eight games as a reserve cornerback and on special teams as a freshman in 2022.
Harrison originally committed to Liberty before a strong senior season at Woodward Academy in Atlanta saw his recruitment take off, and Tennessee was among the slew of offers he reeled in from Power 5 programs, including several SEC teams.
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