Former Tennessee Vols defender leaves SEC program midseasonB

Former Tennessee Vols defensive back Key Lawrence has left the Ole Miss Rebels football program after playing in just four games with the program this season.

Lawrence tweeted on Monday evening that he plans to redshirt this season so he can have one more season of eligibility.

On3's Pete Nakos later confirmed that Lawrence is no longer with Ole Miss.

Lawrence, who is from Nashville, is a former four-star recruit who was rated as the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee in the 2020 recruiting class and the No. 5 overall safety in the nation. He signed with Tennessee in late 2019 when Jeremy Pruitt was the Vols' head football coach.

As a true freshman in 2020, Lawrence played in all 10 games for the Vols, totaling eight tackles and one pass defensed.

In early 2021, just a few days before Josh Heupel was hired to replace Pruitt, Lawrence transferred to Oklahoma, where he played three seasons before transferring to Ole Miss this past offseason (Lawrence was one of three Vols to transfer to Oklahoma in early 2021, along with offensive lineman Wanya Morris and running back Eric Gray...both Morris and Gray are now in the NFL, with the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants, respectively).

Lawrence has 93 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, one sack, and three interceptions in his college career.

Related: Tennessee is dealing with the same frustrating issue from the 2023 season and it's not the Vols' fault