Tennessee Football: The Best Transfers for the Vols of All Time

When the Tennessee Volunteers' 2015 early enrollees were introduced at halftime of the men's basketball game against Texas A&M on Saturday, one player stood out as someone who can contribute immediately: Alvin Kamara.

A one-time Alabama Crimson Tide commitment, Kamara left Tuscaloosa in 2013 and ended up at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas.

As a junior college player, he racked up 1,253 yards and 18 touchdowns in just nine games. With his explosive potential, Kamara may be the perfect complement to sophomore Jalen Hurd in 2015 in the Vols backfield.

Tennessee is no stranger to seeing players transfer in from across the country and make a big impact right away. Von Pearson, one of the team's top wide receivers, comes from a small junior college in California and is poised to be a breakout player for the Vols next season.

While only time will tell if Pearson and Kamara leave lasting legacies at Tennessee, here's a look back at five players who started their careers elsewhere but left Rocky Top as legends. 

Charlie Garner, RB

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Running back Charlie Garner was a standout junior college player at Scottsdale Community College before transferring to the University of Tennessee in 1992. In fact, he rushed for an astounding 430 yards in a single game and 765 total yards in consecutive games, according to UTSports.com.

After arriving in Knoxville in 1992, Garner racked up 928 yards and two touchdowns on 154 carries and followed that up in 1993 with 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns on 159 carries.

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted him in 1998, and he had a Pro Bowl season in 2000 when he rushed for 1,142 yards and seven touchdowns with the San Francisco 49ers. 

Cordarrelle Patterson, WR

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In a year without much to cheer about, JUCO transfer Cordarrelle Patterson at least provided some electrifying highlights during the 2012 season.

A once-in-a-generation talent, Patterson's abilities were mostly wasted on a team that went 5-7 and had a defense that was incapable of stopping anyone, but his ability to take it to the house nearly every time he touched the ball gave Vols fans something to look forward to.

Patterson scored touchdowns in four different ways in 2012, including as a wide receiver, running back, punt returner and kick returner.

A first-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft, Patterson was a Pro Bowl selection that season and holds the record for the longest scoring play in league history: a 109-yard kick return touchdown. 

Leonard Little, LB

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Leonard Little may seem like a player who was at Tennessee for all four years of his career, but in fact he started out at Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kansas, before transferring to Knoxville.

As a Vol, Little wreaked havoc on opposing offenses alongside fellow All-America linebacker Al Wilson.

In 1997, Little, Wilson and Peyton Manning led the Vols to an SEC Championship, with Little racking up 87 total tackles that season, including 8.5 sacks and six tackles for loss. 

By the time his career at Tennessee was over, Little ranked second to Reggie White for total sacks with 28 during his three-year tenure on Rocky Top. 

Jesse Mahelona, DT

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Jesse Mahelona was a 5-star recruit on Rivals and one of the top junior college players in the nation when he transferred to Tennessee from Orange Coast Community College in 2004.

During his first season as a Vol, Mahelona lived up to his ranking, notching 42 total tackles, including five sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss. 

As a result of his stellar performance in 2004, Mahelona not only helped lead Tennessee to the SEC Championship Game against Auburn, but he was also named to the 2004 All-America team by The Sporting News. 

Mahelona was selected in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL draft and last played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008 before tragically dying in a car accident on Sept. 5, 2009, in Hawaii. 

Dale Carter, DB

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Although he played on the defensive side of the ball, Dale Carter was Cordarrelle Patterson before Patterson was even born.

As a defensive back, punt returner and kick returner, Carter excelled on both defense and special teams. 

In just two seasons, he pulled down nine interceptions, broke up 10 passes and piled up 102 tackles as a standout player in Tennessee's defensive backfield.

He also accumulated 522 total yards as a punt returner and 1,130 yards as a kick returner, including one touchdown and season-long returns of 91 yards as a junior and 62 yards as a senior.

Carter was a consensus All-America honoree in 1991. The Kansas City Chiefs selected him 20th overall in the first round of the 1992 NFL draft.

His long career in the NFL lasted until 2005. He was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1992 and made four straight Pro Bowls from 1994 to 1997.