Some special teams help.
Tennessee’s search for a return specialist has led them to the FCS ranks, where they’ve found Ian Duarte. The return specialist just finished up his sophomore season at Idaho State, where he put his his second consecutive 500 receiving yard season. He’ll now head to Knoxville to handle return duties after both Peyton Lewis and Boo Carter left the program.
The 5-10, 176 pound receiver is originally out of California. Duarte put together near identical 2024 and 2025 seasons, catching 46 and 47 passes for just over 500 yards. He handled 11 punt returns for 113 yards in 2025, while returning 12 kickoffs for 242 yards.
Duarte visited Tennessee earlier this week.
Tennessee secured a commitment from Gavin Freeman a couple of weeks ago, but he ultimately flipped to Baylor. The Volunteers moved on to Duarte to fill the need, and land him today.
Tennessee finds its returner here today, along with adding some receiver depth at the slot position. Outside of Joakim Dodson’s big kick return in the Music City Bowl, Tennessee got nothing out of its return game in 2025. Josh Heupel is hoping Duarte can change that in 2026.
Category: General Sports
