Tennessee

Analyst Warns NFL of Titans’ Dangerous New Offensive Duo

Published

10 months ago

June 2, 2025

Analyst Warns NFL of Titans’ Dangerous New Offensive Duo

The Tennessee Titans enter the 2025 NFL season with one glaring and major change on their quarterback roster, thanks to their selection of Cam Ward atop this offseason’s draft.

For a rookie signal caller like Ward, there can be a wide range of expectations for how things could pan out during his first year in the fold. There’s a world where he surges onto the scene as a day one star under center, or can face the ups and downs a young quarterback making a transition to the pros can often have.

Even for a number-one overall pick like Ward, league history has shown us examples of both ends of that spectrum being on the table, regardless of being that highly esteemed top prospect.

Yet, in the mind of NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks, he sees the glass as half-full for the Titans and their rookie quarterback –– not just for how Ward may fare in year one, but also how he’ll factor in alongside Titans head coach Brian Callahan.

Brooks recently broke down his picks for the top-five new quarterback-play-caller duos that NFL defenses should be most worried about for the season ahead, where the Titans’ pairing of Callahan and Ward landed right in that mix.

“The marriage between the No.1 overall pick and Joe Burrow’s former tutor should add some spice to the Titans’ 26th-ranked offense that lacked pizzazz and pop with Will Levis under center in 2024,” Brooks wrote. “With Ward bringing the talent, tools and tenacity that reminds me of a young Steve McNair, the Titans have a quarterback with the ‘alpha dawg’ persona to lead an eye-popping offensive transformation in Nashville. As a pinpoint passer with the capacity to drop dimes from various arm angles, the rookie should easily connect with Calvin Ridley, Van Jefferson and Tyler Lockett racing down the field on crossers and diagonal routes, which will enable the Titans to showcase their QB1’s elite arm talent and impeccable timing.”

“Moreover, Ward’s superb passing skills will allow Callahan to utilize more pages of his creative playbook to punish defenses for overloading the box to slow down Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears in the backfield. Considering how Ward orchestrated dramatic turnarounds at Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami, he could help Tennessee quickly become an offensive juggernaut in the AFC.”

It’s not to say Ward is on track to be the next Joe Burrow, but if Callahan can manage to unlock some similar shades of that immediate production out of his rookie quarterback in year one, that only means great things for this Titans offense.

Pairing Ward with an improved offensive line and a batch of new weapons compared to last season is certainly a nice help for how his rookie season could soon transpire. However, none of those offseason additions will have the chance to elevate the Titans’ rookie like Callahan can, set to be one of the most prominent voices in his ear for the foreseeable future, and one of the most critical people in the building to put him in a position to succeed.

If Callahan can put the pieces together to be the offensive guru he was once advertised as, this Titans offense could be a pleasant surprise for the year ahead.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Has Tennessee ever made a Final Four? Vols hope third time’s a charm under Barnes

Published

10 hours ago

March 29, 2026

Press Room

Has Tennessee ever made a Final Four? Vols hope third time’s a charm under Barnes

For the third straight season, Rick Barnes has Tennessee basketball in the Elite Eight. After Sunday, March 29’s game against No. 1 Michigan, he’s hoping to have taken the Vols where they’ve never been before.

Despite becoming a March Madness fixture, the Tennessee Vols have never, in their history, made the Final Four. Despite a pedigree of modest success, including 11 regular season SEC titles and and five conference tournament championships (most recently in 2022), Tennessee has not been able to cross the threshold to college basketball’s most coveted weekend.

The Barnes era marks the closest Tennessee has come, with consistency, even though its best shot arguably came before Barnes’ time. The Vols’ first Elite Eight trip was under Bruce Pearl in 2010, while Barnes was still roaming the Longhorns bench in Texas.

Barnes has taken Tennessee to the 2024, 2025, and 2026 Elite Eights. There’s an argument to be made 2026 is his most impressive run yet, as a No. 6 seed in the Midwest bracket.

The Vols went as a No. 2 seed in both 2024 and 2025, ultimately losing to the No. 1 seeds of their respective brackets in the Elite Eight. While it could be easy to think it will be more of the same Sunday against No. 1 Michigan, Tennessee has now taken down No. 3 Virginia and No. 2 Iowa State to get to this point. So perhaps one more upset is in store.

Has Tennessee basketball ever made a Final Four?

Tennessee has not made a Final Four in its history, making it one of five SEC schools to not get to the national semifinal round.

The others are Missouri, Mississippi, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. Alabama basketball made its first Final Four in 2024.

Tennessee basketball Elite Eight record

The Vols are 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with losses in 2010, 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Here’s a look at their full history in the fourth full round of the tournament.

2010: No. 5 Michigan State 70, No. 6 Tennessee 69
2024: No. 1 Purdue 72, No. 2 Tennessee 66
2025: No. 1 Houston 69, No. 2 Tennessee 50
2026: TBD, vs. No. 1 Michigan

Rick Barnes Elite Eight record

Barnes is not just defined by his career at Tennessee. He does have a Final Four appearance, winning his first Elite Eight game with Texas in 2003. Since then, though, he is 0-4 in the Elite Eight, with two losses at both Texas and Tennessee.

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Tennessee football gets commitment from WR Kesean Bowman

Published

22 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

Tennessee football gets commitment from WR Kesean Bowman

Tennessee football and coach Josh Heupel picked up a commitment from Brentwood Academy four-star wide receiver Kesean Bowman on March 28 while he was visiting the school.

Bowman narrowed his list to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Alabama and Miami on March 2. All five schools were among his top 10 he acknowledged on Oct. 30. Texas, LSU, USC, Texas A&M and Oregon were among the schools left off his list.

The 6-foot, 174-pound Bowman is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the state for the 2027 class. He is the No. 6 wide receiver nationally, according to 247Sports Composite. He has more than 35 other offers. He decommitted from Oregon last September, more than two months after committing to the Ducks.

Bowman was a Division II-AAA Mr. Football semifinalist, who caught 49 passes for 665 yards and 11 TDs, during BA’s 2025 state runner-up season. He also had a rushing TD and was named the DII-AAA West Region Offensive MVP. He was named to The Tennessean’s 2025 All Midstate Large Class football team and is a Middle Tennessee Sports Awards offensive football player of the year nominee.

Bowman helped BA finish 11-1 in 2025, losing to Baylor in the DII-AAA state championship game.

Tennessee and Heupel have also offered Brentwood Academy offensive tackle Rance Brown, a 6-6, 290-pound lineman who transferred from Southside (Alabama). The Vols are pursuing BA junior four-star linebacker Kenneth Simon II as well.

Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.

He also contributes to The Tennessean’s high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.

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What are the Titans’ top remaining needs ahead of 2026 NFL Draft?

Published

1 day ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

What are the Titans’ top remaining needs ahead of 2026 NFL Draft?

The Tennessee Titans have made some improvements throughout the offseason and appear better positioned heading into the draft than they were in 2024, with added depth on both sides of the ball.

Yet, even with the added talent, they still have multiple needs they must continue to address to help both now and in the future, and another solid draft would go a long way in finding a sustainable path forward. Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated looked at the roster and saw some of the same things as he broke down their remaining needs heading into the draft.

Tennessee Titans
Draft needs: RB, WR, edge, S
The running back duo of Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears hasn’t been a productive one. Cam Ward desperately needs a game-changer at one of the skill positions. Newcomer wideout Wan’Dale Robinson doesn’t exactly fit that bill, but he’ll make life easier for the second-year quarterback.
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With Robert Saleh now the head coach in Tennessee, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Titans used the No. 4 pick on one of the top edge rushers.

There is no doubt that the Titans should add some playmakers in this draft class, and they shouldn’t bank on hitting a dynamic playmaker in the fourth round again. Tennessee could definitely use a premium pick on at least one or possibly two offensive weapons.

Tennessee also must invest in the interior of the offensive line to help Cam Ward and the offense. While it’s true that Pollard and Spears did not blow the doors off the running game, they were also hampered by subpar play along the offensive line for the past two seasons, after line guru Bill Callahan failed to transform the Titans’ line into a consistent unit. It wasn’t until after he and his son Brian Callahan left that the play-calling for the running game took off.

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