HBCU Football: Auburn QB Chayil Garnett transfers to Tennessee State

The Tennessee State Tigers have just received a major pickup from the transfer portal as they acquire former three-star recruit and Auburn Tigers quarterback Chayil Garnett.

Garnett attended Lake Wales and Lakeland High School both in Florida. His best high school season came in his junior year with Lake Wales when he finished with 2,028 passing yards and 18 passing touchdowns along with 336 rushing yards and four rushing scores, leading his team to a 10-2 record.

In addition to playing football, Garnett also played basketball, soccer, and baseball. Coming out of the 2020 class, he was ranked as a three-star recruit receiving offers from numerous schools.

In addition to Auburn, schools that made offers to Garnett included reigning Sun Belt champion Coastal Carolina, Sun Belt West champ Louisiana, five schools in the MAC, and Duke. In addition, he also received offers from hometown schools Florida Atlantic, South Florida, and UCF.

He would ultimately commit to becoming a member of the Auburn football team that featured two other freshmen quarterbacks alongside regular starter Bo Nix.

Like his fellow 2020 quarterback classmates, Garnett would not play a game for Auburn and would announce he would be entering the transfer portal during the offseason.

He will join a Tennessee State Tigers team that will be headed by first-year head coach and former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George along with former NFL head coach Hue Jackson as the offensive coordinator.

Garnett will be a welcome addition to a Tennessee State team that last season combined to throw just four touchdown passes and had a completion rate of 49 percent.

Tennessee State has not finished with a record above .500 since the 2017 season when they finished 6-5. In addition, they have not had a conference record above .500 since the 2016 season.