The date for the 2026 Orange & White game is officially set. Tennessee football will hold its annual spring game on Saturday, April 11, the program announced Tuesday.
The official kickoff time is not yet set but admission is free this season. Tennessee is in its third week of winter workouts after officially reporting back following the brief break after the Music City Bowl. The Vols will officially begin their spring practice on Monday, March 16 following the university’s spring break.
Construction on Neyland Stadium has severely limited the allowed attendance for the Orange & White game over the past few seasons. It does not appear that construction on the stadium will create any limitations for this year’s game.
The 2025 Orange & White game provided plenty of drama when Nico Iamaleava no-showed practice the day before and officially departed from the program the morning of the game, leaving Tennessee’s quarterback situation in peril following the conclusion of spring practice.
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Ironically, Tennessee is currently in a similar spot with Joey Aguilar suing the NCAA in a Knox County Court as he seeks a sixth-season of collegiate eligibility. Aguilar ended up replacing Iamaleava as Tennessee’s starting quarterback before completing completing 272-of-404 passes for 3,565 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2025. He added 101 yards and four rushing touchdowns.
If the courts do not grant Aguilar’s request, Tennessee will turn to redshirt freshman George MacIntye, true freshman Faizon Brandon and Colorado transfer Ryan Staub.
Tennessee is coming off a 2025 season where they posted an 8-5 (4-4 SEC) record. The Vols struggled against quality competition a season ago with their five losses coming against the five FBS teams with winning records that they played. Tennessee’s best wins were road victories at Mississippi State and Florida.
It’s a highly important sixth year for head coach Josh Heupel. The Vols remade their defensive roster and coaching staff after a disappointing 2025 season while bolstering their mostly set offensive roster.
There’s reasons to be optimistic about the defense under first-year coordinator Jim Knowles, but there’s also uncertainty with all the new players and coaches. Tennessee has much more continuity on the offensive side of the ball with quarterback remaining the major question.
