Photo via Richard on Instagram/ @jadais_richard

Jim Knowles clearly wasn’t satisfied with where the secondary was from a personnel standpoint when he took over the Tennessee football program’s defense. As a result, Knowles has landed a long list of defensive backs through the transfer portal.

The latest addition is Miami defensive back Jadais Richard, as he committed on Sunday afternoon, according to Hayes Fawcett. He is coming off a visit to see Tennessee on Friday, he previously told RTI.

Richard was a part of the Hurricanes team that just lost to Indiana in the national championship. However, Richard missed the majority of the 2025 season due to injury. He played in just five games for a total of 20 defensive snaps on the year.

Prior to the 2025 campaign, Richard was a starter at cornerback, though. He played nine games and started six with a total of 405 snaps in 2024 for a PFF grade of 62.4. He posted 27 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception on the year.

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In 2023, he played in eight games and started one on defense. Prior to Richard’s time with Miami, he was at Vanderbilt in 2022 and played in 11 games with one start. Throughout his career, he has played cornerback, safety and nickelback, making him a versatile piece for UT.

Richard is from West Monroe, Louisiana. Out of high school, he was considered a three-star prospect on Rivals and 247. Rivals considered him the No. 36 safety in the class. He stands at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds.

Now, Richard joins a stacked secondary. Along with returning cornerback starter Ty Redmond and safety starter Edrees Farooq, the Vols bring in Qua Moss from Kansas State, Kayin Lee from Auburn, Dejuan Lane from Penn State, TJ and Tevis Metcalf from Michigan, DJ Burks from App State and Isaiah Hardge from Colorado.

Overall, Richard is the 20th commitment in the transfer portal class and the second of the day for UT. Tennessee lost 28 players to the portal, including some starters, but the majority were reserves.