Tennessee set to lose running back to transfer portal, per report
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Tennessee is coming off a disappointing 8-5 season, and while the Volunteers are trying to build back up for 2026, it appears they’ll have to replace one of their top running backs from 2025.
Sophomore Peyton Lewis is entering the transfer portal, according to a report by CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer on Tuesday afternoon. The Virginia native only rushed for 290 yards this past season, but Tennessee featured a plethora of weapons in its high-octane offense, so there was a lot of competition for the ball in Knoxville in 2025.
Despite all those other players who were starring for Josh Heupel‘s offense this past fall, Lewis still managed to score 7 rushing touchdowns, which is a nose for the end zone that the Vols will miss in 2026.
Lewis was a valuable part of Tennessee’s running back stable the past two seasons. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound Lewis rushed for a combined 629 yards and 10 touchdowns during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, appearing in 23 games for the Volunteers.
But Lewis’s role in the offense took a hit this fall with the emergence of players like DeSean Bishop and Star Thomas.
Now, the Vols are suddenly in a precarious position at the running back spot, with Lewis’s reported departure to the transfer portal and Thomas recently declaring for the NFL Draft this spring.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
