Edrees Farooq saw players at his position ride the transfer portal toward Tennessee football this offseason, and he wondered how he should react.

They passed through the facility. They negotiated NIL deals. And they committed to the Vols, possibly to replace Farooq at starting safety. UT added eight defensive backs from the transfer portal.

And to make matters worse for Farooq, Josh Heupel overhauled his defensive staff with coaches who it appeared might favor transfers over returning players.

Farooq could’ve been offended. Instead, he reacted in the opposite manner. He saw the silver lining in new coaches, new teammates and new challenges.

“I see those (new players) as my brothers now,” Farooq said on April 7. “I want them to come and join me and build to go to the national championship.”

In spring practice, Farooq has played as well as any of the players who were brought in to potentially replace him. He has interceptions in each of UT’s two intrasquad scrimmages, including one he returned for a touchdown. And he’s impressed the new coaches who were hired to get the most out of him.

“Expectations are set high. Everybody is here to compete for a job. If you slack for one day, you’ll drop down (on the depth chart),” Farooq said. “Having people in the building ready to push me every day is a good thing to have.”

New Tennessee assistant, player weren’t strangers to Edrees Farooq

When Farooq looked closer, he realized the new pieces were put in place to help him grow as a player. A couple of familiar faces confirmed that point.

First, UT picked up Penn State safety Dejuan Lane out of the portal. Lane and Farooq were already friends, having both played in the Baltimore area in high school. Lane followed defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Penn State to Tennessee, so he already knew the defensive scheme and helped teach it to Farooq.

Secondly, UT hired secondary coach/co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter, who aggressively recruited Farooq out of high school for Penn State.

“During my senior year, he was trying to get me bad to come to Penn State,” Farooq said.

Poindexter was one of the best safeties in college football in the 1990s. He was the 1998 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, a two-time consensus first-team All-American and a 2020 College Football Hall of Fame inductee. He also won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. Perhaps he was exactly what Farooq needed.

“It made me more calm (when Poindexter was hired),” Farooq said. “I have somebody in the building that has the experience of how to play football. He’s a hall-of-famer. Having him in the building is amazing for me.”

Farooq made good first impression to new coach

Poindexter said he told his new defensive backs that they’d get a “clean slate” from him. He didn’t want preconceived notions about players before he coached them and developed a depth chart.

But Poindexter also said he watched enough UT game film to see Farooq’s talent, deficiencies and potential. In spring practice, he likes the direction of the safety who stayed at Tennessee.

“Edrees has had a great spring. He’s doing fantastic,” Poindexter said. “(The fact that Farooq stayed at UT) speaks volumes about him and what he feels about this program and the staff that was here. You’d be around him for five seconds and, man, (you’d know) this is a good high character kid, and he loves Tennessee.

“It’s been impressive to see what he has done this spring.”

How 2025 season showed Farooq needed help at safety

UT added Lane (Penn State), TJ Metcalf (Michigan), DJ Burks (Appalachian State) and Qua Moss (Kansas State), who started at safety at their previous schools. However, Moss may be a better fit at nickelback.

Sidney Walton and Dylan Lewis also return at safety, creating a crowded group at the position. But once again, Farooq sees a silver lining.

Last season, Farooq made 76 tackles, two interceptions and four forced fumbles, second-most in the SEC. But he admitted to losing focus and missing tackles because he got fatigued.

UT was thin in the secondary. And in his first season as a starter, Farooq played 810 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, including 76% of UT’s defensive plays.

But now he has help in Knowles’ scheme, which requires veteran play at safety. That means there’s probably room for Farooq, Lane and Metcalf, for example, to share playing time.

“I want to play with guys that are part of a team so we can build chemistry and play as one,” Farooq said. “There’s a competitive side to it, but that pushes us to be better. Having somebody pushing me and me pushing them is a good thing.”

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 atknoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Safety Edrees Farooq was unfazed when Tennessee football added transfers