Tennessee football’s spring camp is in the books. More than a week ago, the Vols participated in the annual Orange and White Game to put a bow on the preparation heading into the summer.
With spring practices wrapped up for everyone, publications are updating their rankings. This includes On3 personality J.D. PicKell, who released his updated top 25 on Tuesday.
PicKell has the Vols as the No. 19 team in the country. This is good for the eighth-best mark in the SEC. Tennessee trails No. 1 Georgia, No. 6 Texas, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 11 LSU, No. 12 Ole Miss and No. 15 Alabama on the list.
Call w/ your #1 complaint. 629-888-3931 pic.twitter.com/ErmujvwPw3
— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) April 21, 2026
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The biggest question about Tennessee is its quarterback battle. The Vols are deciding between a trio of options, George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon and Ryan Staub. The battle will rage into fall camp, but Josh Heupel has his first look at what the room looks like.
“I do love the growth from that group,” Heupel said about the quarterbacks after the spring game. “I love the way that they competed with themselves, with each other. I love the way that they’ve grown every single day. Each of them maybe had a day where it was a little bit below what they had shown and their expectations, too. They responded and came back the next day and were a lot better. So, there’s a lot of positives, a lot of things that they and we have to work on as a football team.”
The other main question is the defense. Tennessee moved on from defensive coordinator Tim Banks after the 2025 season and brought in former Penn State and Ohio State coordinator Jim Knowles. He overhauled the staff and personnel, but the transition seemed to have gone well in the spring.
