D.J. Jefferson enters transfer portal

Not exactly a shock.

Another Tennessee Volunteer has opted to enter the transfer portal this afternoon. D.J. Jefferson, who was a redshirt freshman this season, will look for a better opportunity for playing time next season.

Jefferson was a former four-star prospect. He spent two seasons in Knoxville with hopes of growing into a role for Rick Barnes, but that never happened — and frankly his prospects of earning playing time next season seemed pretty bleak.

The Texas lefty brought plenty of athleticism to the table, as evidenced by his nightly participation in the one-fly-we-all-fly drill to close shootaround during pregame warmups.

Tennessee will be moving on from Dalton Knecht, Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James next year, but Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack and Jordan Gainey figure to fill the top guard spots for the Vols next season. Freshman Cameron Carr receive a handful of minutes over Jefferson this season, while four-star prospect Bishop Boswell enters the picture this summer. You can expect Barnes to be active in the transfer portal once again, looking to replace some offense vacated by Knecht, too.

So the decision by Jefferson certainly makes sense. He joins Freddie Dilione in the transfer portal. Those were the two names most expected to hear about during portal season, and now Tennessee is left with four open scholarships to fill ahead of the fall.