Nearly five years after receiving a scholarship offer from Tennessee, Tommy Winton III is finally getting the chance to play for the hometown Vols. The former three-star athlete from Knoxville Catholic High School, who spent his first two college football seasons at East Tennessee State, announced his commitment to Tennessee on social media Monday. Winton will join the Vols as a preferred walk-on, according to GoVols247.
Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 196 pounds, Winton entered the NCAA transfer portal last month. He initially received an offer from Tennessee’s previous coaching staff during a camp in June 2019 and later garnered several power-conference offers. His offer list included Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Mississippi State from the SEC, as well as West Virginia, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and Duke. Winton took an official visit to West Virginia in the summer of 2021 before his senior year at Catholic and committed to ETSU just before National Signing Day in 2022.
“It’s home,” Winton told GoVols247. “I grew up in Neyland. On top of that, I couldn’t have come into a better offensive scheme.”
As a freshman at ETSU, Winton played in four games to preserve a redshirt before becoming an eight-game starter and earning Southern Conference All-Freshman Team honors last fall. He led ETSU with 23 catches for 349 yards, making at least one catch in nine of the ten games he played. Winton also had 10 carries for 23 yards, returned four kickoffs for 99 yards, and contributed on special teams.
Winton averaged 15.2 yards per catch, with a catch of 20+ yards in five games. His standout performances included a season-high 89 yards on three catches against Western Carolina, and three catches for 70 yards, including a 37-yard catch, against Wofford. All of his kickoff-return yards came in a single game against Samford.
As a freshman, Winton’s game appearances included Mars Hill, Samford, Wofford, and Mississippi State. He mentioned that the opportunity to play for the Vols came about quickly and he is eager to contribute in any way possible.
“We haven’t gotten too into that,” Winton said regarding his role in the offense. “I’ve been around, so I’ve made it clear I just want to come in and help out wherever I can, embody the ‘give my ALL to Tennessee’ motto. I’m excited to get back home and work. It really happened fast and last-second.”
In high school, Winton was rated a three-star prospect, ranked the No. 72 athlete and No. 29 player in Tennessee for the 2022 class by 247Sports. He played wide receiver and defensive back at Catholic, earning All-State and All-Region honors all four years, with career totals of 3,154 receiving yards and 43 touchdowns.
Winton’s younger brother, Brandon, is a three-star 2024 athlete who signed with South Florida in December and enrolled with the Bulls earlier this year after playing at Knoxville’s Webb School, IMG Academy in Florida, and Alcoa High School. Tommy Winton has three years of eligibility remaining and will be a redshirt sophomore this fall.
