Tennessee players who entered the NCAA transfer portal last month are finding new destinations, and defensive back Christian Harrison is one of them, heading to the Big 12. Harrison, who played multiple positions in the Vols’ secondary and started four games at the Star spot in 2024, announced his commitment to Cincinnati on social media Thursday evening. He is the son of Rodney Harrison, the former Super Bowl-winning safety for the New England Patriots and current NFL analyst for NBC.
The younger Harrison, with two seasons of eligibility left after three years at Tennessee, recorded 31 tackles, three tackles for loss, and one pass breakup in 25 career games. He started as a reserve cornerback and special-teams contributor as a freshman in 2022, then redshirted in 2023. In 2024, he posted 20 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss over 12 games.
After a preseason injury to Jourdan Thomas, Harrison won the starting Star job, splitting time with freshman Boo Carter. However, an injury in October against Arkansas led to Carter taking over the spot, and he started the final five regular-season games. Harrison returned after a one-game absence and continued to play in a rotational role, accumulating 295 snaps on the season. His best performances came in victories over Oklahoma (five tackles, one TFL), Kentucky (three tackles), Mississippi State (one PBU, one QB hurry), and Vanderbilt (four tackles in the regular-season finale).
A former Liberty commit who reopened his recruitment before signing with Tennessee after a strong senior season at Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Harrison had nine tackles as a freshman and logged 86 and 27 defensive snaps in his first two years. After entering the portal, he visited Texas A&M, Indiana, Ole Miss, and Cincinnati, with additional interest from Maryland and other programs. He ultimately chose the Bearcats, who finished 5-7 in 2024. Harrison is rated a three-star transfer by 247Sports, ranked No. 307 overall and No. 18 among safeties in the portal.
Here’s a look at where other Tennessee transfers are heading:
- CB Jordan Matthews: Vanderbilt
- LB Jalen Smith: Mississippi State
- RB Cameron Seldon: Virginia Tech
- RB Khalifa Keith: Appalachian State
- WR Chas Nimrod: South Florida
- WR Kaleb Webb: Maryland
- WR Squirrel White: Florida State
- DL Jayson Jenkins: Florida State
- LB Kalib Perry: Louisville
- WR Nathan Leacock: Purdue
- TE Holden Staes: Indiana