Tennessee Volunteers running back Peyton Lewis is planning to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, Volquest has learned.

Lewis played two seasons on Rocky Top, and he was an early recruiting win in the 2024 cycles for the Vols, as they beat out South Carolina for the former four-star prospect at the time.

Lewis saw action in 23 games during his time on Rocky Top. As a freshman, he saw limited action behind Dylan Sampson and Desean Bishop. Lewis carried the ball 64 times for 339 yards and three touchdowns.

This fall, he was a more frequent contributor in Tennessee’s running back rotation early in the season, but his production slowed over the latter half of the season, as he saw less action and dealt with an injury.

Lewis carried the ball 70 times for 290 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He carried the ball 134 times for 629 yards and ten touchdowns over the course of his career. He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining at his next stop

Understanding the portal

The transfer portal window is now just one window. The window opens on January 2nd and runs through January 16th.

Players don’t have to pick a school they are going to during those specific dates but those are the span of dates on when a player can enter the portal.

Those dates don’t apply to graduate transfers who can enter the portal whenever they wish. Also, if there’s a head coaching change, their players are granted an immediate 30-day window during which they can enter the portal.

Of note, any team playing in a game after Dec 28 (playoffs or regular bowl) gets a five-day window once season ends for those player to enter portal.

Players who enter the portal in the winter window are trying to be somewhere for the spring semester. 

For Tennessee the spring semester starts on January 21 which is late compared to many schools around the country. Tennessee a year ago started a winter mini-term class that runs the first three weeks of January.Â