Tennessee Football Celebrates 11 Graduates on Friday

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee football team will see 11 of its players receive their diplomas this week during Friday’s 2018 Fall Commencement ceremony at Thompson-Boling Arena.

In total, 30 current and former Tennessee student-athletes are expected to walk across the stage and receive their diplomas on Friday morning, with UT football’s 11 student-athletes being the most from any team.

The list includes 10 current players as well as Jeff George, who concluded his UT career last fall. Paul Bain will give the current senior class a perfect 100 percent graduation rate when he receives his diploma this spring.

Of the 10 current players graduating this semester, four will be eligible to return next season. That list includes Chance Hall, Zac Jancek, Ryan Johnson and Quart’e Sapp.

Johnson will walk on Friday after earning his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering a year early and will begin pursuing his master’s degree in civil engineering this spring.

Johnson was one of the many graduates who expressed gratitude to the staff of the Thornton Center, which offers academic counseling services, career development programs and tutor programs among many features.

“Playing football and graduating with a civil engineering degree is no easy task,” Johnson said. “It would not be possible without the great staff at the Thornton Center.

“The support staff there has helped me all along the way, mentoring and guiding me. They have helped me figure out what classes to take and helped me work with my professors so that my football and school schedules do not conflict.”

The complete list of Tennessee football fall graduates is listed below.

Tennessee Football Fall Graduates (Major in Parenthesis):
DB Micah Abernathy (Finance)
OL Chance Hall (Finance)
DB D.J. Henderson (Communication Studies)
QB Zac Jancek (Communication Studies)
DL Alexis Johnson Jr. (Communication Studies)
OL Ryan Johnson (Civil Engineering)
OLB Jonathan Kongbo (Communication Studies)
LS Jesse Medford (Industrial Engineering)
LB Quart’e Sapp (Recreation & Sport Management)
DL Shy Tuttle (Communication Studies)