Texas Football: Immediate impact LB Juwan Mitchell lands with Vols

Some former Texas football players that put their names in the NCAA Transfer Portal in the last couple of months found new homes on the afternoon of May 3. And a couple of Texas Exes that were in the portal this offseason landed with big-time blue blood programs around the college football landscape this week.

Former Texas junior linebacker and three-star JUCO transfer recruit Juwan Mitchell was one that took his talents elsewhere out of the portal on May 3. Mitchell announced on his Twitter timeline on May 3 that he would be transferring to join the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC East.

While Mitchell did put his name in the portal last offseason, just to eventually wind up landing back on the Forty Acres, the same could not be said this time around. Mitchell transferred to Tennessee, to join first-year head coach Josh Heupel and a talented Vols team.

https://twitter.com/juwanmitchell_6/status/1389277672363204612

This is the second former Longhorns linebacker that put his name in the transfer portal and has found his next landing spot. The other high-profile former Texas linebacker that is in the portal at this point of the offseason is the former blue chip recruit and junior Ayodele Adeoye.

And the lone other Texas linebacker that has found a home out of the portal this offseason other than Mitchell is the sophomore Byron Vaughns, who transferred to join the Utah State Aggies.

Former Texas football LB Juwan Mitchell joining Tennessee

What the Vols are getting out of Mitchell is an experienced and proven linebacker that can make an impact for their defense right away. He was set to be the leading tackler coming back for the Longhorns this year had he not put his name in the portal.

Last season, Mitchell registered 62 combined tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, no sacks, one pass breakup, and one fumble recovery, in nine games played. And that now gives the 6-foot-1 and 230 pound Mitchell just shy of 100 career combined tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, five pass breakups, no forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

Tennessee had a lot of roster attrition themselves. Both the Vols and Longhorns brought in new coaching regimes this offseason, potentially leading to the reason why Mitchell put his name in the portal in the first place.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 7-3 (5-3 Big 12) under the direction of former head coach Tom Herman. Back on Jan. 2, Texas replaced Herman with the former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian as the next head coach.