Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee will transfer to Tennessee football to help reload a depleted defensive secondary.
Lee is an experienced cornerback in the SEC with 36 games played and 25 starts over the past three seasons. He has 82 tackles and three interceptions in his career with one season of eligibility remaining.
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Lee is a 5-foot-11, 180-pounder from Ellenwood, Georgia. He was a four-star recruit out of high school in the 2023 class. And he was ranked the No. 8 cornerback in the portal, according to 247Sports.
He made visited Ohio State, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Missouri before choosing Tennessee.
Lee is Tennessee’s third player added from the portal. He joins Kansas State safety Qua Moss and LSU offensive tackle Ory Williams.
Where Kayin Lee fits in Tennessee football secondary
Lee fills an essential need for Tennessee, which suffered sizable losses in the secondary.
All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy declared for the 2026 NFL Draft after missing the 2025 season with a torn ACL. Starting cornerback Rickey Gibson suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1 and entered the transfer portal. Cornerback Colton Hood earned All-SEC honors and declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.
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At nickelback, Jalen McMurray is headed to the NFL and Boo Carter was dismissed from the team.
Lee can start at cornerback opposite Ty Redmond, or he could possibly factor in at nickelback. Redmond was an All-SEC cornerback as a freshman. Freshman Tre Poteat got his first major action in the Music City Bowl.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Kayin Lee: Tennessee football gets Auburn cornerback from transfer portal
