Tennessee enters the summer with a different outlook than it had heading into the spring. There aren’t a ton of differences, but the big one is that Tennessee will be working with a new signal-caller with the Nico Iamaleava departure that happened in mid-April.
The Vols’ QB battle this fall will consist of redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger, true freshman George MacIntyre, and App State/UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar.
Tennessee’s quarterback turnover is the likely culprit for why six of 247 Sports’ analysts appear to be hesitant on the Vols.
247 Sports released a post-spring Top 25 on Sunday, combining six analysts’ rankings into one final product. Tennessee is absent from the list.
The back half of 247’s Top 25 is loaded with SEC teams, but none of them are Josh Heupel’s squad: No. 17 South Carolina, No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 21 Auburn, No. 23 Texas A&M, and No. 25 Oklahoma.
The Vols barely fell behind the Sooners for the final spot on the list. According to writer Brad Crawford, Oklahoma finished with 22 out of 150 points while Tennessee was right behind at 20 out of 150 points. Tennessee received more points than any of the other non-ranked teams, showing that the Vols are at least right on the outside looking in.
This is also a sharp falloff from 247’s post-2024 way-too-early rankings, which saw Tennessee land at No. 9 in the preview from late January.
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Iamaleava’s departure and the Vols’ quarterback questions have been felt around the media landscape. On3 Sports’ Andy Staples released his post-spring Top 25 last week with Tennessee landing at No. 21 in his rankings. More lists and services will surely come out in the following weeks, but one thing is clear. People seem fairly skeptical about Tennessee with its current roster outlook.
Whether the early predictions wind up being right or wrong, this is textbook bulletin board material for Tennessee this summer. Not that the staff or players should be thumbtacking every single way-too-early Top 25 board to the locker room door, but there’s a sense this spring that Tennessee is going to have its doubters heading into the 2025 season. There’s a little bit of swagger that can come with being doubted, too. A chip on the shoulder.
Not specifically 247’s article, but the general idea that Tennessee has its doubters may fuel the fire for some Volunteers throughout the summer. Players differ in whether they spend time on social media or not, and obviously are motivated in different ways. But there’s nothing like some good old-fashioned pessimism to provide a little extra incentive for that 11th rep on a hot Tuesday in Knoxville this summer.
SEC teams from 247’s Sports post-spring Top 25 include No. 1 Texas, No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 LSU, No. 10 Florida, No. 17 South Carolina, No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 21 Auburn, No. 23 Texas A&M, and No. 25 Oklahoma. Josh Heupel’s Volunteers, while unranked, received the 11th most points in the SEC.
Check out Brad Crawford’s full post-spring Top 25 for 247 Sports here.
