Tennessee football is set to hold its home opener in just 24 hours when it meets ETSU inside Neyland Stadium. The Vols and Buccaneers will square off at 3:30 p.m. ET with the game airing on SECN+/ESPN+.
Before kick-off, I dove into the numbers, with the help of UT’s game notes, to get a better look at what to expect in the game.
Here are three numbers to keep in mind as you’re watching the home opener.
More From RTI: Tennessee Football Reportedly had Highest Recruiting Budget in the Country in 2024
288.2
This season marks year No. 3 at the FBS level for Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar. Between his first game as a Vol and his pair of seasons with Appalachian State, he has produced an average of 288.2 yards of total offense per game in his career. No active FBS player has more, with Aguilar leading the country.
In his first game with Tennessee, Aguilar lowered this average by the thinnest of margins. With 247 yards through the air and 34 yards on the ground, his total came out to 281 on the game. For his first game with UT and against a Power Four opponent, that’s a strong mark, though.
This week, Aguilar has the chance to raise it. With FCS foe ETSU coming to town, he’ll have much more talent around him than the Buccaneers will have on defense. The question is how long he’ll stay in the game to potentially rack up these numbers.
0
Tennessee football leads the country in two important categories after one game. The reason is the Vols put up a 0 in both departments.
First, Tennessee allowed 0 sacks in the win over Syracuse. While Aguilar had strong awareness to avoid pressure and even extended plays at times outside of the pocket, the offensive line gets the kudos. Despite returning just one starter, being down a projected new starter and having to shuffle some positioning, the group dominated the run game and protected Aguilar well.
The other category is the 0 interceptions that Aguilar threw. With plenty of time to operate, he didn’t make any costly decisions through the air to give the ball to the other team. His only major miscue was fumbling the mesh of what appeared to be an RPO or play-action handoff with Star Thomas.
11
Tennessee’s roster looks a whole lot different in 2025 than it did in 2024. It’s not just depth pieces, either, although there were 21 players in total who saw action in the win over Syracuse that recorded their first-ever snaps as a Vol.
In starters alone, it was 11 players making their first starts with Tennessee. This included quarterback Joey Aguilar, running back DeSean Bishop, safety Edrees Farooq, cornerback Colton Hood, wide receiver Mike Matthews, right guard Wendell Moe Jr., right tackle Jesse Perry, wide receiver Braylon Staley, left guard Shamurad Umarov, center Sam Pendleton and defensive tackle Jaxson Moi.
There may be another trio that makes their starting debuts against ETSU this week, as well. David Sanders Jr. is supposed to start at right tackle, but was held out due to injury. He projects to return on Saturday. On defense, with Rickey Gibson III joining Jermod McCoy on the sideline due to injury, freshman Ty Redmond could get bumped up as a starter. With Moi also out on Saturday, there’s a chance Nathan Robinson fills his role.
