Tennessee Football LB Announces Plans to Enter NCAA Transfer Portal

Brenden Anes announces he is set to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Tennessee linebacker Brenden Anes (55) during a college football game between Tennessee and UAB at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sept. 20, 2025. | Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers have experienced some downs recently, as well as the majority of the nation. This is because players are beginning to announce their decision to enter the college football transfer portal.

The Vols have been one of the teams that have been crushed in the past from the transfer portal, as there have been two major instances where this has happened. The first instance is when the Vols had a portal wave hit the roster when all of the Jeremy Pruitt news was released. This led to the majority of the team leaving the Vols, which Josh Heupel had to rebuild when he took over as head football coach.

The other instance was just a year ago, when the majority of the older guys left. The Vols lost over 30 players in the portal season, but they have hopes that this won't happen again. However, the Vols have lost yet another player to the transfer portal, as this player has announced that he intends to enter.

Brenden Anes Plans to Enter the Portal

That player is Brenden Anes. Anes joined the roster this season as a true freshman, as he committed to the Vols on Halloween last year. He flipped away from the Wisconsin Badgers and never really saw the field much in the Orange and White. He played behind guys like Jadon Perlotte, Edwin Spillman, Jeremiah Telander, and Arion Carter. He will also have stiffer competition joining the group as well with both Brayden Rouse and TJ White joining the room. Both of those guys are top linebackers in the class, and have the chance to see the field early on.

Anes entering the portal is what he feels is best for his career, and a team will likely take a chance on him, as he is still very young and will have his redshirt, which means he is technically still a freshman for next season.

The Vols will be looking to land some players of their own, which is something they didn't do much of a great job with during the portal in the last cycle. The Vols will also be returning a large majority of their roster, which is huge, as a lot of these guys are going to be young. You will likely see more portal entries and more NFL Draft decisions being made sooner than later as well. Make sure you stay tuned with Vols on SI.

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