OK.
I google "Tennessee Self imposed scholarship reductions that expire after Spring semester".
From 02/22/22 Knoxville Sentinel article:
Is Tennessee still self-imposing scholarship cuts?
UT played last season with as few as 71 scholarship players, as players entered the transfer portal throughout the fall...
Are the Vols also cutting scholarships from the 2022 roster as an extension of that self-imposed penalty? UT Chancellor Donde Plowman, athletics director Danny White and Heupel declined to answer, citing the open NCAA investigation as the reason for their silence...
In the transfer portal, UT picked up only one scholarship player while the other 13 SEC teams have added an average of almost six players apiece.
The Vols could add a few more transfers in the spring when traffic in the portal is expected to spike again. But that may depend on whether more UT players enter the portal after spring practice to free up scholarships.
From 02/16/22 A to Z Sports article:
The speculation, however, is that Tennessee will be able to add more players via scholarship after the spring semester (for now it appears that UT is trying to get around the reductions by utilizing preferred walk-on spots).
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So, as I originally posted, we got a "self imposed cap" right now, so we're off the market for transfers. Us potentially picking up players in the Spring appears to be pure speculation. Further, such transfers appear dependent upon *current* players leaving Tennessee via the portal, which represents a net sum zero equation.
