Tennessee
Lions QB Makes Sense for Titans
If there is one thing clear about the Tennessee Titans right now, it is that they badly need to make a move for a legitimate starting quarterback.
Will Levis has done nothing to show development and improvement, while Mason Rudolph is also clearly not a starting caliber NFL quarterback. Heading into the offseason, the Titans will be tasked with finding a new option.
There is a chance that Tennessee could look to get aggressive in the NFL Draft to land one of the top quarterback prospects. Cam Ward looks like an ideal fit if the Titans could get him.
However, there is also a chance that Tennessee could explore the free agency and trade market for a new quarterback.
Should they opt to go the trade route, they could target a quarterback who would not cost them an arm and a leg. Perhaps a younger backup quarterback from another team would make sense.
One potential option could be trading for Detroit Lions’ backup quarterback Hendon Hooker.
Hooker was originally selected by the Lions with the No. 68 overall pick in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He has played in three games in limited action this season, completing six of his nine pass attempts for 62 yards.
At 26 years old, he could be a long-term franchise quarterback option if things pan out.
Bringing in Hooker would have no downside to it. The Titans would not feel pressure to play him like they would by bringing in a veteran option. Also, Hooker would be able to compete with Levis and the best man would win the job before the 2025 campaign.
Throughout his career, Hooker has shown off immense talent. In his draft class, some thought that he had top-tier potential to be an NFL starter down the road.
In five college seasons, including his last two with the Tennessee Volunteers, Hooker completed 67 percent of his passes for 8,974 yards, 80 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions. He also picked up 2,083 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground.
Acquiring Hooker also would not be too expensive. Tennessee could likely flip a late pick in the middle rounds for him.
All of that being said, something has to change for the Titans. They can’t afford to stand pat and hope that Levis will figure things out.
Trading for a piece like Hooker could be the move that motivates Levis, or Hooker himself could end up being the team’s starter moving forward.
Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
Tennessee defensive back Christian Harrison, the son of former NFL great Rodney Harrison, has entered the transfer portal.
Harrison announced his decision on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday. He played in the Vols’ 42-17 loss to Ohio State in a College Football Playoff first-round game on Saturday night, making two tackles and played 25 snaps.
His father, Rodney Harrison, was a two-time All-Pro, two-time Super Bowl champion and a member of the New England Patriots Hall of Fame as one of the top safeties of the past 30 years. The elder Harrison played under Bill Belichick, the new coach at North Carolina.
Harrison is the 10th scholarship player to enter the transfer portal in December. The portal is open through Dec. 28.
Harrison is a 6-foot-1, 191-pounder from Atlanta. He played 26 games with four starts over three seasons at Tennessee. He took a redshirt in 2023, so he has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Harrison made 33 tackles, including three for loss, in his UT career. He started at nickelback early in the 2024 season after projected starter Jourdan Thomas suffered a season-ending injury in preseason practice. But by midway through this season, Boo Carter, an SEC All-Freshman performer, moved ahead of Harrison in the rotation.
Harrison was a three-star signee in UT’s 2022 class. He originally committed to Liberty and ultimately chose the Vols over Kansas State, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Utah, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and others.
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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The Tennessee Titans continue their December woes with a 38-30 loss to the Indianapolis Colts that was considerably worse than the final score line despite a fourth-quarter comeback attempt.
Indianapolis led 38-7 at one point in the third quarter after the Colts scored 38 straight, but 23 unanswered points by the Titans forced Indianapolis to run a four-minute offense to close the game out.
Tennessee (3-12) was done in by the Colts’ 24-point second quarter. Jonathan Taylor finished with 218 rushing yards and three touchdowns as Tennessee’s defense allowed 335 rushing yards overall.
Here are three key moments from the Titans’ Week 16 game:
Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts key moments
Scenario: Titans give Colts good field position after missed 53-yard field goal
Brayden Narveson’s first field goal attempt for the Titans, stepping in for the injured Nick Folk, was from 53 yards in the first quarter with the Titans leading 7-0 with 14:16 left in the second quarter.
Tennessee could have taken a 10-point lead. But Narveson’s kick was short and wide right, giving the Colts the ball near midfield.
The Colts drove down the field after the missed field goal, tying the game on an Anthony Richardson 5-yard touchdown run.
Scenario: Jonathan Taylor’s first touchdown run of the game gives Colts the lead
In a 7-7 game, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor took off for the first of several big runs on Sunday.
Taylor sprinted on zone left run, then cut back and sprinted for a 65-yard touchdown run with 7:25 left in the second quarter. Indianapolis took the lead and never looked back.
Scenario: Kenny Moore’s interception leads to a Josh Downs TD catch, Colts’ 24-7 halftime lead
Mason Rudolph’s telegraphed pass was picked off by Kenny Moore with 1:25 left in the first half, and the Colts quickly took advantage.
Josh Downs took a quick pass on a bubble route and raced past two Titans defenders for a 27-yard touchdown catch just before halftime. Indianapolis led 24-7 at the break, and the Titans’ woes continued.
What Nico Iamaleava said after Tennessee football’s loss at Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tennessee’s path to the College Football Playoff had been paved with cold-from-behind wins.
On Saturday night at Ohio Stadium, the Vols didn’t have another comeback effort in them.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Hindered by an uncharacteristic performance from its typically reliable defense and injuries, No. 9 Tennessee fell behind three scores in the first half against No. 8 Ohio State and didn’t have the offense to make up for it, leading to a 42-17 defeat that ended its season.
The Vols (10-3) had been plagued by slow starts through the first half of the season, more often than not able to find enough life to win.
They did it against Florida, Alabama and Vanderbilt in the triumph that clinched their first-ever playoff berth.
But that kind of start proved costly vs. the Buckeyes (11-2), who posted more than 430 yards of total offense and never came close to giving up their lead.
If there was any positive that could have been gleaned from Tennessee’s performance, it was quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
Iamaleava, at times during those stagnant starts looked very much like a freshman quarterback trying to find his footing as a now full-time starter.
In the second half of the season, though Iamaleava was more poised and the Vols’ began flourish on that side of the ball.
Tennessee didn’t flourish in many areas on Saturday. What small doses of momentum they found almost always involved Iamaleava.
He ran the ball 20 times for 47 yards, extending drive and rushing for both of the Vols’ only touchdowns.
Here is everything Iamaleava said about the performance.
On if he expected to run the ball 20 times
“I mean, 20 (carries). No, I did not expect to run that many times. Some shots that were there, and overall as a team we didn’t just execute the whole game plan, so got to be better.”
On what disappointed him most about the performance
“Just started off slow. We were supposed to come in, had a great game plan to come in and fire first, and they hit us in the mouth first. We were just trying to recover that whole game. First half I thought we did a great job of that, and second half coming in I thought we could have played at a way higher level than we did.”
On what team can take away from loss
“I think just use it as motivation. We’ve been putting in work since January to get to this point, and it sucks to go out that way because that’s not who we are. love this team. I love the team we have. Just the way tonight went was not the way we wanted it to go, and we’ll use that as fuel and motivation during this off-season to really hit it.”
On what Tennessee needs to do to beat better teams on the road
“I think that all just comes to executing on the road. Like I said, our coaches gave us a great game plan, and us as players, as the team, we’re the ones out there on the field playing, and we’ve just got to hold ourselves to a higher standard and execute at a higher level.”
On Dylan Sampson and Dont’e Thornton Jr. dealing with injuries, how it effected the game
“Shoot, at the end of the day, man, whoever is out there, whether it’s a freshman or not, we’ve got to be able to execute the same way with those guys or not, and we didn’t do a good job of that tonight.“
On the difference between running an offense at home and on the road
“I would just say there’s a crowd noise that plays a factor in how we play. We can’t play as fast as we want to without tempo, and that’s really the biggest factor was crowd noise.”
On what personnel Tennessee can add to open up the offense
“Obviously in the off-season, me, Coach Joey, and Coach Heup are always have conversations about how we can excel this offense, and it’ll be that in the off-season, too.”
On large contingent of Tennessee fans that were at Ohio Stadium
“I love it. Man, I was so happy to see all the orange in the stands. It sucks the performance we gave out for them, but I hope they get home safe, man. I really appreciate their support.”
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