Tennessee Tight End Reveals Raw Locker Room Reaction After Shocking Quarterback Transfer That Rocked Volunteers’ 2025 Preseason Preparations
In college football, trust and chemistry are as essential as talent and play-calling. When a team believes it’s on the cusp of greatness, even the smallest disruption can feel seismic. That’s why, when Tennessee’s projected starting quarterback Gavin Schoenfeld stunned the program by announcing his transfer just weeks before the 2025 season opener, the news hit like a sledgehammer. Coaches were blindsided. Fans were outraged. And inside the locker room, emotions ranged from disbelief to betrayal.
Now, for the first time since the defection, a key leader on the team is speaking out. Senior tight end Braxton Langston, one of the Volunteers’ most vocal veterans and emotional anchors, offered an unfiltered glimpse into how the players processed the departure of the player they expected to lead them into a potential College Football Playoff run.
“It was like a gut punch,” Langston admitted during a closed-door media session following a recent practice. “We’d spent all offseason grinding, building timing, working through adversity together. Then boom—he’s gone. No warning. No conversation. Just a social media post and silence.”
Schoenfeld’s transfer to USC shocked not only Tennessee fans but the entire college football landscape. After redshirting in 2023 and serving as the backup in 2024, he was expected to break out as one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the SEC. With a strong arm, dual-threat capabilities, and a full year in Josh Heupel’s fast-paced offense, he looked poised to step into the spotlight. Instead, he walked away—citing personal reasons and a “new opportunity” in Los Angeles that better aligned with his goals.
Inside the Tennessee facility, the reaction was far from diplomatic.
“We didn’t understand it,” Langston said bluntly. “We weren’t mad that he wanted to chase something different. Everyone’s got their path. But the timing? The way it went down? That felt like a slap in the face.”
According to multiple sources close to the program, Schoenfeld had shown no public signs of dissatisfaction. He’d been active in summer workouts, running first-team reps and even organizing informal throwing sessions with receivers and tight ends. There were no outward signs of tension or unhappiness. Then, overnight, he was gone.
“You build trust over time, especially with a quarterback,” Langston said. “You don’t just snap your fingers and find that connection. We bled for each other in the weight room, on the field, in the locker room. Then to have that bond just disappear? It hurts.”
Langston, who returned for his final year to chase a championship and improve his NFL stock, said the initial days after Schoenfeld’s departure were the hardest.
“Guys were pissed. Some felt betrayed. Some were sad. Some were confused,” he recalled. “But Coach Heupel gathered us and reminded us who we are. That no one person is bigger than the T on our chest.”
It was that moment, Langston said, that began the healing process—and the refocusing. The team rallied around redshirt freshman Jaxson Carroll, a talented but untested quarterback who suddenly found himself thrust into the starting role. Coaches restructured practice schedules, and senior leaders like Langston took it upon themselves to stabilize the locker room.
“You could see Jaxson was shaken at first,” Langston said. “But I pulled him aside and told him, ‘You’re our guy now. You don’t have to be Gavin. You just have to be you.’ That changed everything. Since then, he’s taken command.”
Carroll’s development in the weeks following Schoenfeld’s exit has been one of the bright spots in what could have become a disaster. Coaches say he’s more focused than ever, spending extra hours in the film room, building chemistry with his receivers, and accepting the pressure of leading one of the SEC’s most high-powered offenses.
Langston praised Carroll’s humility and willingness to learn. “He asks questions. He owns mistakes. He doesn’t try to be flashy. He just works. That’s all we need right now.”
While the pain of Schoenfeld’s departure still lingers, Langston says it has galvanized the team in a way few other events could.
“We’ve got a chip on our shoulder now,” he said. “Everybody’s doubting us. Saying we lost our season before it started. Good. Let ’em. We know what we’ve got in this room.”
The coaching staff, to their credit, has also handled the situation with resolve. Josh Heupel has avoided public criticism of Schoenfeld, choosing instead to double down on the program’s philosophy: next man up, team over individual.
“This team’s been through adversity before,” Heupel said in a recent media availability. “We don’t fold. We get stronger. I love the way our guys have responded.”
Langston echoed that sentiment, emphasizing how adversity has become a rallying cry for this year’s squad.
“Every year, something tests you. Maybe it’s injuries. Maybe it’s a tough loss. This year, it just came earlier. But now we know what we’re made of.”
As for Schoenfeld, there’s been little communication between him and his former teammates. A few players have said they exchanged brief messages wishing him well, but many others have chosen to move on without contact.
“There’s no beef,” Langston said. “Just distance. When someone makes a choice like that, it changes things. It’s not hate. It’s just different now.”
He did, however, express hope that Schoenfeld finds success—so long as it doesn’t come at Tennessee’s expense.
“I’ll never root against a dude chasing his dream,” Langston said. “But if we see USC in the playoffs? All bets are off.”
In a broader context, Schoenfeld’s transfer is just the latest example of how college football’s landscape has changed. With the transfer portal more active than ever, players have more freedom—and power—than any previous generation. While that freedom is generally celebrated, situations like this force teams to confront the emotional toll of sudden departures.
“You try to be professional about it,” Langston said. “But this isn’t the NFL. We’re not getting paid millions to just keep quiet and move on. These are relationships. These are brothers. So yeah, it hurts differently.”
Still, the mood around the program has shifted from stunned to defiant. The Vols are no longer moping—they’re motivated. With Carroll developing chemistry with Langston and a talented receiving corps that includes Dontay Franklin and K.J. Lattimore, the offense is beginning to click again. Meanwhile, the defense, led by veterans like Elijah Herring and Roman Harrison, is making it clear that they’ll do more than their share.
“We don’t need saving,” Langston said. “We’re Tennessee. We’ve got depth. We’ve got pride. And we’ve got unfinished business.”
For Langston personally, the ordeal has reminded him of the fragile nature of college athletics—but also its power to reveal character.
“People always talk about loyalty like it’s old-school,” he said. “But to me, it still matters. Showing up every day, through good and bad, matters. And the guys who are still here? We’re locked in.”
Asked if the Vols are still playoff contenders, Langston didn’t hesitate.
“Hell yeah, we are. One guy doesn’t make a team. We’ve got dogs all over this field. We’re coming.”
As fall camp continues and Week 1 looms, the Volunteers are refocused, reenergized, and perhaps more united than ever. What could have been a breaking point has become a bonding moment.
The message from Braxton Langston—and the entire Tennessee locker room—is clear: they may have lost a quarterback, but they found something more powerful in return. Identity. Resilience. Purpose.
And they’re ready to prove that when one man walks away, the team that stays can still rise—together.
