Tennessee picks up Texas’ leading tackler, Juwan Mitchell, in transfer portal

Former Texas linebacker Juwan Mitchell. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Former Texas linebacker Juwan Mitchell. (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Tennessee football claimed the commitment of Texas’ leading tackler from last season, former three-star linebacker Juwan Mitchell.

Tennessee’s linebacker corps just got a much-needed addition in the form of Juwan Mitchell.

The former Texas linebacker, who led the Longhorns in tackles in 2020, is on the move to help bolster one of the Volunteers’ most decimated position groups.

“Get ready for the SEC takeover,” Mitchell wrote on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/juwanmitchell_6/status/1389277672363204612?s=20

Mitchell was a three-star JUCO recruit in the class of 2019, ranking 158th among that set of prospects. At 6-foot-1, 235 pounds, he came in immediately and contributed for Texas, even starting three times in 2019.

However, he entered the transfer portal in early 2020 before withdrawing his name. The decision to stick around yielded results. Mitchell had 62 tackles in 10 games, with 4.5 tackles for loss.

Juwan Mitchell will give Tennessee much-needed experience at linebacker

Clearly, the production didn’t fix whatever problems the linebacker had with the Longhorns. His name was back in the transfer portal again by the end of March.

Tennessee lost Henry To’o To’o, Quavaris Crouch, Deandre Johnson, J.J. Peterson, Martavius French, Kivon Bennett, Sayeed Shah and Nyles Grady to the transfer portal this year, so the linebacker unit can use all the help they can get. Getting a player with as much solid playing experience as Mitchell is a huge deal for a rebuilding defense under a new staff.

If getting Mitchell wasn’t enough for Vols fans, another transfer target is now on the market. Auburn defensive lineman Jay Hardy, who was the top prospect in the state of Tennessee in the class of 2020, entered the portal on Monday.

Who recruited Hardy to Auburn? New Vols defensive line coach Rodney Garner.

Next. 50 best college football teams of all time. dark

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.