Tennessee quarterback Gaston Moore is entering the transfer portal ahead of his final season of eligibility, 247sports Matt Zenitz first reported on Thursday morning.

Moore spent four seasons at Tennessee after originally going to Central Florida out of high school. The Hilton Head, South Carolina native followed Heupel from UCF to Tennessee and worked his way up the depth chart before serving as the backup quarterback in 2024.

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound signal caller completed 16-of-27 passes for 201 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions off the bench in 2024.

Moore played a handful of meaningful snaps for Tennessee during the 2024 season. He came in for one play in the first half against Alabama, throwing an interception on a third down deep ball. After Nico Iamaleava went into concussion protocol against Mississippi State, Moore came in at halftime and completed five-of-eight passes for 38 yards while also picking up a handful of pass interference calls.

More From RTI: Tennessee Football’s Complete Season PFF Grades

Moore also played garbage time snaps in Tennessee’s lopsided wins over Chattanooga, Kent State and UTEP. The walk-on quarterback played sparingly in his first three seasons at Tennessee but didn’t attempt more than 10 passes in any of those seasons.

Despite having already spent five seasons in college Moore still has one more year of eligibility remaining. The signal caller spent the 2020 season at UCF which didn’t count against his eligibility due to COVID-19 eligibility relief. Moore then redshirted the 2021 season at Tennessee meaning only three seasons counted against his eligibility.

Without Moore, redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Merklinger and incoming freshman George MacIntyre will compete for Tennessee’s backup quarterback spot behind Nico Iamaleava.

JACKSON, Tenn. — It’s Christmas, the time of the year when travel gets busier as people move to and from their holiday destinations.

Christmas is underway and the holiday travel is in full affect across the region.

Here in West Tennessee, many are traveling for the holidays. A report from the Automobile Association predicted that more than 119 million Americans have at least 50 miles to travel for end of the year holidays. One traveler tells what their Christmas experience means to them.

“For me it was getting to be with family. I have sisters and stuff that I went to visit. One of them invited us up for dinner so, even though it’s a two-and-a-half hour drive, it’s always good to see family,” said Andrew Knox, traveler.

Knox says the Christmas menu did not disappoint this year.

“We had greens, macaroni and cheese, stuffed shells, dressing, ham, chicken wings — BBQ and plain, it was off the chain,” said Knox.

We asked about their end of the year reflections and what they expect for the new year.

“Grateful to have my wife with me of 17 years, my best friend and stuff, so I’m grateful that everybody is doing well. The family is doing well and that’s the main thing. Just so much to be thankful for and I just want everybody to be kind to each other. That’s all I would hope for the new year coming,” said Knox.

More than half of holiday travelers will return home on the same night. Airlines expect their busiest days to be on friday and Sunday, December 27 and December 29.

“We drove up this morning and we’re on our way back home now,” said Knox.

If your looking for last minute holiday attractions, see our 2024 Guide to the Holidays in West Tennessee.

For more news in the Jackson area, click here.

Ensworth defensive back Justin Hopkins included Tennessee football among his final 12 schools in a social media post Wednesday.

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound four-star cornerback listed the Vols along with Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Duke, Missouri, Indiana, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Iowa, Ole Miss, Auburn and West Virginia on his X account, formerly known as Twitter.

He’s the No. 9-ranked prospect in Tennessee and No. 18 nationally at corner for the class of 2026, according to 247Sports Composite.

Hopkins also holds offers from Cincinnati, UConn, Memphis, Miami (Ohio), Purdue, Toledo, UNLV and Western Kentucky.

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel guided the Vols to a College Football Playoff berth as one of the 12 teams in the newly expanded field. Heupel has had success securing some of the state’s top recruits in recent years, including Brentwood Academy quarterback George MacIntyre, Hopkins’ teammate, defensive tackle, Ethan Utley as well as Baylor wide receiver Joakim Dodson, Jefferson County offensive lineman Nic Moore and Sheffield wideout Radarious Jackson.

Hopkins helped guide Ensworth to an 11-1 record that included a trip to the TSSAA Division II-AAA state semifinal game. He finished the 2024 season with 42 receptions for 705 yards and seven touchdowns. Defensively, he added 16 tackles, two for a loss, seven pass break-ups, two interceptions and a defensive TD.

Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.