The tight end position was already a big question mark on Tennessee’s roster heading into the upcoming season and now it appears the position group will be taking a hit in terms of depth, too.

According to David Ubben of The Athletic, former four-star prospect Jackson Lowe has entered the NCAA transfer portal. For what it’s worth, Lowe has been removed from Tennessee’s online roster.

Lowe was the No. 12 tight end prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle out of Cartersville, Ga. He was scheduled to be a redshirt freshman this fall for the Vols.

Heading into the third season under Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee’s tight end group doesn’t have much to work with in terms of experienced tight ends in camp.

Projected starter Austin Pope remains sidelined following an offseason back surgery while fellow tight ends Princeton Fant, Jacob Warren, Jordan Allen and Sean Brown have yet to make much of an impact on the field for the Vols.

Tennessee did sign promising athlete Dee Beckwith this offseason in the hopes of adding him to the tight end room but he was recently moved to the running back position after getting looks at tight end and receiver earlier in the camp.

As always, it must be noted that just because a player has entered the portal, that doesn’t mean they can’t return to the program. A few players have done so under Pruitt only to return to Tennessee during his three years on Rocky Top.