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3 Titans picks land in ESPN’s list of biggest draft steals of last decade

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3 Titans picks land in ESPN’s list of biggest draft steals of last decade


The Tennessee Titans have had their fair share of draft steals over the last 10 years.

Say what you want about the job former general manager Jon Robinson did post-pandemic (2020-2022), but there’s no denying he was borderline phenomenal over the first four years of his tenure as Titans GM.

Early on in his career, Robinson appeared to have a knack for finding severely underrated talent on the second and third days of the NFL draft.

That’s why it’s no surprise to see the Titans with three different players on ESPN’s list of the 50 biggest draft steals of the last decade, with all three being ranked in the top 25.

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According to ESPN’s Matt Miller and Jordan Reid, RB Derrick Henry (No. 5), WR A.J. Brown (No. 19), and S Kevin Byard (No. 21), each made the cut. By the way, first-round picks were purposely excluded for their exercise.

Henry tops the Titans’ draft picks after becoming, as Miller wrote, “the most feared running back since Jerome Bettis” despite being selected in the second round (No. 45 overall) of the 2016 NFL draft.

Brown undoubtedly was one of the biggest steals of the 2019 draft, instantly becoming a household name by the end of his rookie season.

Lastly, Byard has become arguably the best ball-hawking safety since Ed Reed, tallying 28 interceptions over his last six seasons alone (leads all safeties).

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Tennessee desperately needs to get back to identifying and drafting this type of talent. Let’s hope general manager Ran Carthon can do just that.





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Why Tennessee football playoff rankings don’t matter to Josh Heupel but should to you

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Why Tennessee football playoff rankings don’t matter to Josh Heupel but should to you


Coach Josh Heupel understands why Tennessee football fans will watch the first College Football Playoff rankings show on Tuesday night, but it won’t be must-see TV for him.

“Do you remember what the first rankings were last year? I don’t either,” Heupel said. “So it doesn’t matter. What they remember is where you finish as November wraps up.”

For what it’s worth, Tennessee was No. 17 in the first CFP poll last season. And it never factored into the playoff race.

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In 2022, the Vols were ranked No. 1 in the first CFP poll. They dropped out of the four-team bracket after losing to Georgia and never got back in.

So Heupel makes a fair point. A team’s finish matters instead of its start when it comes to the playoff rankings.

But in this new 12-team playoff format, there’s more room to maneuver from week to week and still stay in the mix.

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The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). A new top 25 will then be released by the CFP selection committee every Tuesday through Dec. 3.

The 12-team playoff field will be announced on Dec. 8.

Focus on Mississippi State before worrying about Georgia

Tennessee is ranked No. 6 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the AP Top 25. Where the Vols are placed in the CFP rankings will indicate what the selection committee thinks of their resume thus far.

But Heupel is right that Tennessee (7-1, 4-1 SEC) will make or break its playoff chances by what it does in the next four games, beginning with Saturday’s contest (7 p.m., ESPN) against Mississippi State (2-7, 0-5).

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“Playoff rankings at this point don’t matter. You don’t have control over it,” Heupel said. “All you have control over is your preparation and how you play. Ultimately, that determines where you’re at or where you’re not at.

“For this football team, we’ve got to continue to grow and get better and control those things that we’re in control of.”

If Tennessee beats Mississippi State, its trip to Georgia on Nov. 16 (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) would have a massive impact on the SEC and playoff races.

Are Vols talking about College Football Playoff chances?

No. 2 Georgia (7-1, 5-1) plays at No. 12 Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2) on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC).

Ole Miss likely would drop out of the playoff race with a loss, and Georgia would be in the driver’s seat for a playoff bid and SEC championship game berth.

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A Georgia loss to Ole Miss would put the Bulldogs in a potential playoff elimination game against Tennessee.

Tennessee would be a playoff shoo-in by winning its final four games for an 11-1 record. Losing to Georgia only and finishing 10-2 would set up a toss-up situation for the Vols, who would need help from other playoff contenders.

Alabama (6-2, 3-2) plays at LSU (6-2, 3-1) on Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC) in a likely playoff elimination game. And there are games in other conferences that will impact next week’s CFP rankings. But none of that matters to the Vols unless they beat Mississippi State to stay in the race.

“It’s just a one-week season at this point. And we’ve talked about us being in control of our destiny,” tight end Holden Staes said. “But in terms of the big picture with the College Football Playoff, we know down the road that will come. But if we just take it one week at a time and do our job each week, then we’ll have the results in terms of that at the end.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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Watch: In-Depth Breakdown Of Tennessee Football’s Two Most Recent Commit

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Watch: In-Depth Breakdown Of Tennessee Football’s Two Most Recent Commit


It’s no secret that Tennessee landed two recruits on Halloween day. The Vols had a great holiday as they had a day full of treats and no tricks. Tennessee added a commitment in the class of 2026 and a flip from one school to the Vols in the 2025 class to close out the night.

2026 WR Tyreek King committed to the Vols early on Thursday becoming the first wide receiver to commit to the Vols in the 2026 class. King attends Knoxville Catholic which is closer than most schools to Neyland Stadium. Kings high school is only around 15-20 minutes away from Neyland Stadium so one could argue that the Vols always had an advantage for the hometown prospect.

Tennessee would continue the trend of adding other recruiting classes with in-state prospects as Page High School linebacker Brenden Anes would flip his commitment from Wisconsin to the Tennessee Vols. Tennessee has been looking to add another linebacker in the 2025 class as Austin Howard and Brenden Anes have been the frequently mentioned names when talking about the position of need. The Vols finally convinced the Wisconsin linebacker commit to flip to the in-state program with just over a month before early signing day.

You can learn more about this recruiting success below by watching Talkin’ Tennessee with Caleb Sisk. This video not only talks about the two newest commits but also some prospects and targets to keep an eye on moving forward.

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No. 12 Tennessee Basketball vs. Gardner-Webb: How To Watch, Betting Odds, Prediction | Rocky Top Insider

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No. 12 Tennessee Basketball vs. Gardner-Webb: How To Watch, Betting Odds, Prediction | Rocky Top Insider


Tennessee basketball opens up its 2024-25 campaign on Monday night as the Vols host Gardner-Webb at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

The reigning SEC Champions are breaking in a number of new players on this year’s squad but expectations remain high for a program that’s been as consistent as any in the SEC in recent seasons.

Here’s everything to know about the Vols’ season-opener against Gardner Webb on Monday night.

“They’re gonna play really fast. They’re well coached, extremely well coached. They got a new coach there, but they’re gonna work hard. They’re gonna really try to score quick. I think (they were) one of the top teams in the country last year. They can almost play with a 17-second shot clock. They get down the floor, they’re gonna shoot it quick, they know what they’re doing. They know how they wanna play. They’ll spread you out. Really good cutting team. If you turn your head, you get caught looking, they’re gonna take advantage of it.”

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Gardner-Webb:

*Has not listed its starters

Team Statistics Last Season (via Sports Reference)

Tennessee:

Gardner-Webb:

Stat Leaders (Last Season, Any Team)

Tennessee:

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Points: Chaz Lanier (North Florida) — 19.7 PPG, 51 FG%, 44 3PT%

Rebounds: Igor Milicic (Charlotte) — 8.5 RPG

Assists: Zakai Zeigler — 6.1 APG, 2.2 TOPG, 31.6 MPG

Gardner-Webb:

Points: Jamaine Mann (Georgia State) — 6.1 PPG, 46 FG%, 20 3PT%

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Rebounds: Isaiah Richards and Ademide Badmus — 4.5 RPG

Assists: Darryl Simmons II — 0.8 APG, 0.4 TOPG, 10.2 MPG

Prediction

For as much new as Tennessee basketball is breaking in this season, Gardner-Webb is breaking in even more new including a first-year head coach and very few of its top contributors from a season ago.

I have a very hard time seeing Gardner-Webb scoring a lot of points in this game so this feels much more about what Tennessee can do on the offensive end of the court, especially after its poor offensive performance in its exhibition against Indiana.

The Vols will shoot better from the perimeter in this game. They need to be able to establish an inside scoring game too. It would be a bad sign if they can’t.

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Tennessee 84, Gardner-Webb 51



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