Tennessee football begins the fifth spring practice of the Josh Heupel era on Friday morning when the Vols return to the Haslam Practice Field.
The Vols are coming off a 10-3 (6-2 SEC) season and a birth in the College Football Playoffs last season. Tennessee has the talent to make it back but also has a lot of new players breaking into new roles.
Here’s three storylines to watch for as Tennessee football opens up spring practice.
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Will Rickey Gibson Participate, What Does Tennessee’s Cornerback Room Look Like Without Him?
Returning Tennessee starting cornerback Rickey Gibson announced two weeks ago that he plans on entering the transfer portal when it opens up later this spring. The Vols will likely work to keep Gibson out of the portal later this spring but the most pressing question is whether Gibson will participate in spring practice.
It seems unlikely that he would from a negotiation stand point but that is not clear to this point. If Gibson doesn’t go through spring practice, what will Tennessee’s cornerback room look like?
All-SEC corner Jermod McCoy will miss the entirety of the offseason as he rehabs a torn ACL and 2024 backup Jordan Matthews transferred to Vanderbilt this offseason. That leaves Jalen McMurray as the one key player that will for sure be good to go. Second-year corner Kaleb Beasley will also get a lot of run.
Tennessee needs real and effective competition for its young receiver room and that seems quite up in the air at the moment.
Nico Iamaleava Works To Build Chemistry With New Receiver Room
Tennessee football has a completely new look receiver room entering the 2025 season. The Vols receivers were underwhelming a season ago and Tennessee lost four of its top six receivers from a season ago, either to graduation or the transfer portal.
That puts a major emphasis on the need for Nico Iamaleava to build chemistry with a new receiver core. Alabama transfer receiver Amari Jefferson is the one transfer receiver and it’s unclear whether he’ll be full-go after an injury sidelined him his freshman year in Tuscaloosa. There’s also talented early enrollee receiver Travis Smith who will look to build continuity with Iamaleava and push for early playing time.
Returning receivers Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley will likely step into big roles this season but even they have limited work with the second-year starting quarterback. That’s especially the case for Staley.
Iamaleava is looking to build chemistry with these new and emerging faces at receiver and there’s one X-factor.
How Does Boo Carter Split His Playing Time?
Boo Carter flirted with entering the transfer portal earlier this offseason and one of the reported reason she returned to Tennessee was because the Vols’ staff agreed to let him play receiver as well as STAR.
And with the way Tennessee’s offseason went, the Vols need Carter at receiver more than they need him at defensive back. How Tennessee manages his workload will be interesting all offseason and during the season.
That’s all the more important during spring practice as he looks to gain some comfort at receiver and gain continuity with Iamaleava.
