Late on Wednesday Night, the Ole Miss Rebels suffered their most recent Transfer Portal loss as linebacker TJ Dottery entered the Transfer Portal. After starting his career at Clemson, TJ Dottery transferred to Ole Miss ahead of the 2024 season starting at linebacker the past two seasons. This season, Dottery racked up 98 tackles, 48 solo tackles, 2 pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, and a pair of forced fumbles.
TJ Dottery will become a highly sought after player in the Transfer Portal as a linebacker with two seasons of experience in the SEC along with two year's of eligibility remaining. Plenty of Top 25 teams will be in the mix for the Ole Miss transfer, but instantly 3 potential contenders standout.
These 3 teams should quickly push for TJ Dottery
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide are going to look wildly different at linebacker in 2026 as Deontae Lawson, Justin Jefferson, and Nikhai Hill-Green are off to the NFL while Qua Russaw transferred to Ohio State. Alabama already added Caleb Woodson from Virginia Tech, but adding an experienced SEC Linebacker in Alabama native TJ Dottery would go a long way.
LSU Tigers
Like we saw with assistant coaches and front office personnel, there's going to be a ton of pieces moving between Baton Rouge and Oxford. Given that Dottery played for Lane Kiffin paired with the Tigers losing veteran linebackers Harold Perkins Jr and West Weeks, LSU is certainly a team to watch given how hard they're pushing to compete in 2026.
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines made a strong push for Cal linebacker Cade Uluave, but the Utah Native picked BYU moving Kyle Whittingham's team on to their next option. Adding T.J. Dottery could make a ton of sense for Michigan as a short-term plug and play piece who'd give the team experience at linebacker.