Is Amari Jefferson Able to Play Baseball and Football for Tennessee?
Long before the Alabama transfer committed to Tennessee on Tuesday afternoon, receiver Amari Jefferson was already involved. Before deciding to play for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, Jefferson was heavily recruited by Josh Heupel and the Vols right out of high school.
However, Jefferson spent more than a year as a baseball commit from Tennessee before committing to Alabama football. According to Perfect Game, the right-handed outfielder was ranked No. 6 in the state of Tennessee during the 2024 recruiting cycle and among the top 300 players in the country.
A source inside the Volunteer baseball program told RTI on Tuesday that there is mutual interest between Jefferson and the coaching staff of Tennessee baseball. However, there are still a lot of moving parts and uncertainties. Playing both sports is a big challenge at the collegiate level because of the importance of football’s spring practice and baseball’s fall practice, which overlap with the other sport’s regular season. Another important factor for Jefferson is that he is still recovering from the injury that kept him out of action for his entire freshman football season at Alabama.
As the reigning National Champions approach the start of preseason practice and the 2025 season approaches, Tennessee baseball players are returning to college this week ahead of the spring semester.
The 6-foot-3 transfer is unlikely to have a significant impact on the Vol baseball team in 2025, especially in light of Jefferson’s injury and the fact that Tennessee has a very quality club returning.
Jefferson’s ability to compete for playing time at receiver in the upcoming season is also crucial for Tennessee football. Only two receivers from their two-deep from the previous season are back for the Vols, who lost five receivers to the transfer portal earlier this offseason.
Jefferson, the sole incoming transfer receiver for Tennessee football at the moment, will have the chance to play a significant role during his redshirt freshman campaign.
Neither football coach Josh Heupel nor baseball coach Tony Vitello have had a two-sport player at Tennessee. Trevon Flowers, a former safety for Tennessee, mentioned playing center field in college as well, but that never happened.
Although there are several situations that will make it difficult for Jefferson to play two sports for Tennessee, both parties are currently considering this alternative.
