Tennessee lost another piece of safety depth late on Thursday night. Christian Charles, a longtime member of the Tennessee secondary, announced his decision to test the transfer portal waters.
Beyond Grateful for my time as a VOL…. KNOXVILLE HAS BEEN GREAT TO ME. i’m thankful for my time spent. But I think it’s time to do what’s best for me and my family! i’ll forever bleed orange GBO
— Christian Charles (@CD___Charles3) April 18, 2025
Charles, who has battled injuries throughout his entire career, appeared in ten games for Tennessee last season. He missed the majority of the 2023 season due to injury and was battling back this spring from a shoulder issue suffered late in the year. Charles missed all of spring practice over the last month.
Once a promising player who started games back in 2022 at cornerback, Charles’ injury setbacks dropped him down a few notches on the depth chart. He shifted to safety to provide Tennessee depth at a thin spot on the roster last season and was looking at a similar role in 2025. Instead, he’ll move on in hopes of finding a starting role somewhere.
Tennessee is left pretty thin at safety once again following the exit of both Charles and John Slaughter. The Volunteers will lean heavily on veterans Andre Turrentine and Jakobe Thomas, but after that it’s a bit of a guess.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tennessee add a body or two during the spring portal session in the defensive backfield, especially with the unknown of top cornerback Jermod McCoy’s knee injury.