Tennessee defensive lineman Herb Gray is set to enter the NCAA transfer portal when it officially opens on Friday, marking another move in what's been an active offseason for the Vols. Gray, a redshirt freshman, spent the past two seasons with Tennessee and saw limited action this year, appearing in two games and recording one tackle and a half-tackle for loss-both coming in the season opener against East Tennessee State.
At 6-foot-3 and 288 pounds, Gray came to Knoxville as a preferred walk-on but quickly turned heads. After a strong showing in his junior year, he earned a scholarship offer from Josh Heupel’s staff in December 2022.
That came during a recruitment process that saw Gray draw interest from several Power Five programs, including Penn State, West Virginia, and Boston College. Coming out of C.H.
Flowers High School in Springdale, Maryland, Gray was rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports, ranked as the No. 85 defensive lineman in the 2024 class and the No. 24 player from Maryland.
Gray’s decision adds to a growing list of Tennessee players opting to explore new opportunities. He becomes the ninth current or former Vol to announce plans to enter the portal ahead of the January 2 opening.
That list includes sophomore running back Peyton Lewis, redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Merklinger, defensive back Marcus Goree Jr., linebacker Brenden Anes, edge rusher Kellen Lindstrom, and defensive lineman Jamal Wallace. Sophomore defensive back Boo Carter, who was dismissed from the program in November, and former offensive tackle Trevor Duncan are also among the names heading to the portal.
This wave of movement comes amid changes to the NCAA’s transfer calendar. The spring window has been eliminated, and the winter portal period has shifted from December to a 15-day window in January, running from January 2 through January 16. While players can't officially communicate with other programs until they’re in the portal, announcements like Gray’s have been rolling in as athletes make their intentions known.
For Tennessee, the portal activity comes on the heels of a tough 30-28 loss to Illinois in the Music City Bowl. Head coach Josh Heupel didn’t sugarcoat the situation postgame. He acknowledged the need for improvement but also emphasized the program’s young core and the influx of talent from the recent signing class.
“We’ve got to be better - absolutely,” Heupel said. “But there’s a lot of really good, young talent inside that locker room - one of, if not the youngest teams, in our league.”
Heupel made it clear that the Vols will be active in the portal, but he also pointed to development, chemistry, and toughness as just as important as raw talent. “The talent is one thing.
The development of it is the second part of it,” he said. “There’s connection and work mentality and mental toughness, and every trait that it takes to go win - it’s got to be developed, as well.”
Despite the roster turnover, Heupel is confident in the direction of the program. “I feel really good about what we have coming back, what we have coming in.
Then, we’ve got to go get some guys here in the portal. And then we’ve got to go build a football team, which you have to do every year when you get back in January.”
As the portal officially opens, Tennessee will be one of many programs looking to retool, reload, and reassert itself in the SEC. And for players like Herb Gray, it's a chance to find the right fit and take the next step in their college football journey.