Tennessee football lands former Ohio State cornerback in transfer portal

Former Ohio State cornerback Andre Turrentine has transferred to the Tennessee football team after one season in Columbus.

Nashville native Andre Turrentine is coming home, as the former Ohio State cornerback has transferred to his home state’s Tennessee football program.

Turrentine entered the transfer portal on April 25 after a year with the Ohio State football team. The former four-star recruit from the Music City had 23 offers coming out of high school. He picked the Buckeyes over the likes of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee during his recruitment. Turrentine saw limited action during his one year in Columbus and retains four years of eligibility.

Here is the tweet Turrentine sent out late Monday morning to let the world know he is now a Vol.

Former Ohio State four-star DB Andre Turrentine transfers to Tennessee

According to the 247Sports Composite, Turrentine was the No. 4 player from Tennessee, the No. 9 safety in his class and the No. 169 overall prospect for 2021. Though players from the south commit to Ohio State all the time, a lot has changed over the last year leading to Turrentine to transfer to his home state’s flagship university. It is a combination of changes at both programs.

From the Ohio State side of things, the Buckeyes made a change at defensive coordinator with Jim Knowles coming over from Oklahoma State to fix Kerry Coombs’ mess. As far as Tennessee, the Vols had a great first year under Josh Heupel. Though he is a former Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback from his days at Oklahoma, the Volunteers program is trending in the right direction.

Because this is Turrentine’s first transfer, he will be eligible to play immediately. Of course, he missed all of spring practice at Tennessee. Though his talent will get him on the field in some capacity, it may not be until the 2023 college season before Turrentine really starts to make a name for himself in SEC play. Then again, one can never overstate the power of coming home.

Tennessee getting Turrentine in the transfer portal is a big pickup that may pan out in a few years.

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