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Tennessee tight end Jack Van Dorselaer enters NCAA transfer portal

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh01/14/26griffin_mcveigh

Tennessee tight end Jack Van Dorselaer has entered the NCAA transfer portal, On3 has learned. Just one season was spent in Knoxville by Van Dorselaer after being a nice recruiting win for the staff. The Volunteers now lose somebody who appears to have a bright future.

Van Dorselaer played in all 13 games for Tennessee this season, routinely getting onto the field. Multiple targets headed his way, resulting in five receptions for 23 yards. Even a touchdown pops up on the stat sheet for the true freshman, coming during the nonconference portion of the season. East Tennessee State saw Van Dorselaer get into the end zone during a 72-17 drubbing on Spet. 6.

“Another guy I pointed out being prepared for his opportunities, played great on special teams,” head coach Josh Heupel said of Van Dorselaer after the Mississippi State game. “His reps on offense did a great job in the core. He was a big part of the overtime play where we were spring a run. Played with violence, speed and technique and created space there for DeSean.

“Score at the end of the game, outside quarterback zone, does a great job. He’s a young guy that he’s handled himself with great maturity and continues to get better, but he’s prepared and love the growth that we’ve seen from him.”

Van Dorselaer played high school football at Southlake (TX) Southlake Carroll, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 384 overall recruit in the 2025 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Multiple schools attempted Van Dorseaer during his originaly recruitment. One of those was the SMU Mustangs, trying to keep the DFW product close to home.

Of note, SMU just made an interesting staff hire that relates to Van Dorselaer. His former high school head coach, Riley Dodge, is heading to the Hilltop to be SMU’s tight ends coach.

But you have to imagine plenty of other schools will come after Van Dorselaer in the coming days. Three years of eligibility remain for him. An exciting career should be heading Van Dorselaer’s way, no matter where he ends up out of the portal.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.