Key Starter For Tennessee Receives Decision From NCAA On Medical Waiver
The Tennessee Volunteers and head coach Josh Heupel have their work cut out to shore up an offensive line that has lost another starter due to an NCAA ruling. The Vols made the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history last season. Though the first-round blowout loss to Ohio State was disappointing, improvement was evident in the 10-3 season in Year Four under Heupel. Things will look a bit differently for the Vols in 2025 after losing three starting offensive linemen to exhausted eligibility, including center Cooper Mays, right guard Javontez Spraggins and right tackle John Campbell. Mays and Spraggins earned All-SEC honors after helping Tennessee lead the SEC in rushing offense. The Vols thought there was a chance that left guard Andrej Karic could return for a sixth-year of eligibility. The 6-foot-6, 314-pound lineman started all 13 games last season. The former Texas transfer applied for a medical redshirt to cover his first season at Tennessee in 2023. Karic started the first four games that year before suffering a season-ending injury in Game Five.
Although he played just five snaps before going down in that matchup, the NCAA has denied Karic’s waiver, ending his collegiate career and creating another void on the offensive line for Tennessee, according to a report from Adam Sparks of the Knoxville News Sentinel. Karic appears to be headed to the 2025 NFL Draft after announcing his signing with Capital Sports Advisors, per an Instagram post on Friday. The Vols added a pair of transfer offensive linemen in Sam Pendleton (Notre Dame) and Wendell Moe Jr. (Arizona). Additionally, Tennessee signed five-star
tackle David Sanders Jr. and four-star guard Nic Moore, among others, in its No. 11 class of 2025 (247Sports).
The Vols will open the 2025 season against Syracuse at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Aug. 30.
Andrej Karic reportedly receives answer from NCAA on eligibility waiver
Andrej Karic, Tennessee’s starting left guard and one of the top offensive linemen in the SEC, has learned that his request for a medical waiver for the 2025 season has been denied, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel’s Adam Sparks.
Karic played 26 games at Texas from 2020-2022 before transferring to Tennessee ahead of the 2023 season. At Texas, he saw action in 3 games in 2020 — including a first career start in the Alamo Bowl — while notching 11 appearances and a start in 2021 and playing in 12 more games (3 starting at tight end) in 2022.
In his first season with the Volunteers, he played in 5 games, including the first 4 starting at left guard, but missed much of the season due to a lower body injury. In 2024, he enjoyed his most successful season to date, starting in every game.
The Southlake, Tex., native had hoped to get a medical waiver to account for the time he missed in 2023. He suffered a season-ending injury just a few snaps into his 5th game of that campaign. However, the NCAA ruled against him in that matter, meaning he will not return to the Vols.
It’s a big blow to the Vols’ front five, who hoped to have one of their top offensive linemen back in the fold for one more year as they looked to build on a first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.
