Another Tennessee player could be leaving the program ahead of Josh Heupel’s first game as head coach.

Matt Zenitz of On3 Sports is reporting that Volunteer defensive lineman Greg Emerson has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal. Entering the portal does not bind a player to leave the program, though the school is also not required to keep that player on scholarship once they enter the portal. Once a player enters his name into the portal, he can be contacted and recruited by other programs. Instances of SEC players withdrawing from the portal and rejoining the team are increasingly rare.

Emerson signed with UT as part of the 2018 recruiting class. After playing in one game, Emerson redshirted his first season with the Vols. As a redshirt freshman, Emerson appeared in all 13 games of the 2019 season, starting nine, recording 30 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks and 2 pass breakups. In 2020, Emerson played in eight games as a reserve, recording a tackle in the season finale against Texas A&M.

Emerson was a 4-star defensive tackle in the class of 2018. His 20 scholarship offers included Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Texas A&M.