Defender Henry To’o To’o, a former selection of SEC graduates, who started 22 games in the last two seasons and three other Tennessee players entered the transfer portal on Wednesday.
Eric Gray, quarterback Quavaris Crouch and linebacker Jahmir Johnson also returned.
This comes two days after head coach Jeremy Pruitt was fired amid an investigation into what UT Chancellor Donde Plowman said was a “grave violation of NCAA rules.”
Assistant coaches Brian Niedermeyer and Shelton Felton were also fired, along with four members of the campus football recruiting staff, the director and assistant manager of the football player’s staff and a football analyst / quality control coach.
Kevin Steele, who was hired as an assistant coach on January 12, has been named interim coach after Pruitt’s dismissal.
To’o To’o, the sophomore, started all 10 games last season and led the team with 76 tackles and 10 touchdowns. A former California four-star prospect, he signed with Tennessee in 2019 over Alabama, Utah, USC and Washington.
Crouch, a North Carolina student, started every game last season and finished third in the team last season with 57.
Gray, a Memphis student, emerged as one of the best backs in Tennessee in 2020, ranking sixth in the SEC in heavy play courts (85.8) and sixth in play-off scrimmage courts (114 , 0).
Johnson is a senior in a red shirt, but can use the NCAA’s decision to grant an additional year of eligibility for fall and winter sports.