Tennessee

Tennessee Becoming Early Contender For Top 2027 Quarterback

Published

1 year ago

October 7, 2024

Tennessee Becoming Early Contender For Top 2027 Quarterback

Tennessee has done an excellent job recruiting quarterbacks since Josh Heupel made it to campus. Heupel has landed four quarterbacks including Nico Iamaleava, Jake Merklinger, George MacIntyre, and Faizon Brandon. It’s safe to say they locate their targets early on and have done just that in the 2027 class.

Trae Taylor is a Lake In The Hills, Illinois prospect who attends Carmel Catholic High School. Taylor is a four-star target who recently received his Tennessee offer and offers from 20+ schools as a current sophomore in high school. Many anticipate him to be a five-star.

He caught up with Tennessee on SI following his offer.

“It is a special offer to me. Tennessee was one of the first schools my dad took me to when I was younger. This helped me to dream about playing in front of over 100k fans one day,” the 2027 QB states. “It was Coach Halzle and Coach Militello who offered me. They just said they watched my film and loved it. They think I’d be a great fit for them with the things I do. (Which I do agree with). Tennessee, once they started recruiting me has been very consistent,” Taylor stated.

He will visit Rocky Top sooner than later and is working on finding a date soon. “I’m most definitely going to visit. We are trying to figure out a good date to make this happen. But I’m definitely getting down there this season.” Tennessee is already making noise being listed in Taylor’s early edition of a top 10 that has not been finalized. “Tennessee right now is in my top 10. As a QB who wouldn’t want to play in an offense where you know they throw it around? Play in an amazing stadium, and home of Peyton Manning. The fan base has already shown a ton of love on social media. I have already seen the facilities multiple times so I know what that is.”

Moving forward the prospect hopes to connect well with this staff. “I want to see if we connect and if they can develop me to be a 1st round draft pick. Now that I have the offer I’ll make sure to reach out to Joe Milton and get his feedback on things.”

“My biggest message is if this is the school I pick, just know I give my all to be great. That will not change at Tennessee. So keep showing that Tennessee love and I’ll see you soon.”

He also had a story to share about Coach Joey Halzle.

“Just know the first time Coach Halzle saw me throw I was in 6th or 7th grade and I had a great conversation with him and the rest of the staff. Been a long time coming. Coach still has not followed me on Twitter like he said years ago,” Taylor said jokingly…”But this offer makes up for that.”

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New Yorkers trade city life for chores on Thompson’s Station farm

Published

7 hours ago

April 5, 2026

Press Room

New Yorkers trade city life for chores on Thompson’s Station farm

When New Orleans-native Sami Khan co-founded a mobile game seven years ago, he could’ve never imagined it would land him and three New Yorkers on a farm in Thompson’s Station.

Atlas: Earth is a mobile metaverse game that allows players to buy virtual real estate, which mimics the real world, to earn and cash out rewards.

“ We started thinking about building entertaining content that can help mobilize our community and include them in more ways to earn/win money,” Khan said. “So our next task was how can we get our community to earn even more money and tie it into something entertaining that the rest of the community will wanna watch?”

The result, a YouTube game show called “Cashtronaut.” With the success of “Squid Game” and creators like Mr. Beast, game shows where you complete a variety of tasks for money are all the rage on social media.

When they originally began to plan for this “fish out of water” concept of having people from large cities live in rural or semi-rural areas, they chose to have people from Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

Khan and his group landed on only New Yorkers solely by chance.

“ The original idea was to find somebody in Miami and Los Angeles and New York but around that time we actually got the opportunity to have an ad in Times Square,” he said. “It was at that moment that we were like, wait a second. If we’re gonna have an ad in Times Square, why don’t we use three New Yorkers?”

From then, they completely shifted their original plan, and several months later they ended up on the Whispering Willows Farm in Thompson’s Station.

“ We were very excited and thought it would be a lot of fun,” said Jen Wilson, the co-owner of Whispering Willows Farm and Dairy. “ This is not the first time that we’ve done videotaping but we just really enjoy it.”

Besides a background in agriculture, Wilson also is a research scientist with degrees in biology and physics. She and her husband are also foster parents, and the space of the farm allows their children to gain new skills while relying on the animals as a sort of therapy.

“We’ve been foster parents for over 20 years, and as we grew older, we realized that having animals was really helpful for the foster kids,” she said. “So we ended up with a garage full of rabbits and then decided we needed to move. We got a farm and then just kind of grew from there.”

Upon arrival, the contestants were dropped straight into Thompson’s Station and forced to adapt quickly as they took on a series of hands-on challenges far removed from their city comfort zones.

The three Manhattan-based contestants from different walks of life included a DoorDash driver, fashion designer and lifestyle content creator.

They took part in challenges such as milking a cow in below-freezing temperatures, searching a potato field to locate potatoes marked with each contestant’s initials, and navigating a tractor through a timed obstacle course.

The episode also culminated in a high-energy farm race featuring an egg relay, crawling through mud, lassoing, and leading a sheep up a hill to the finish line. After a tightly contested final push, Courtney Moore, the content creator, emerged victorious, taking home the $10,000 grand prize.

“I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into, and that’s what made it so fun,” she said. “Going from Manhattan life straight into farm challenges was wild, exhausting, and honestly empowering. Winning the $10,000 was incredible, but the experience itself was unforgettable.”

In addition to awarding the cash prize, Cashtranaut donated $5,000 directly to the Thompson’s Station farm as a thank you for hosting and supporting the production.

“ Our dream is to build a learning barn where kids and adults could come learn about agriculture as well as some other things,” Wilson added. “I’ve homeschooled my biological children but it’s hard to teach biology without a lab. We would love to create a space where we could host homeschool lab classes for other students where we could do dissections and learn various skills.”

As with any challenge, Khan explained although earning money is a big part of it, they aim to educate the players and viewers.

“ If you watch the New Orleans episode where, you know, teaching people about the Napoleon House and a little bit about the history of the French Quarter,” he said. “These houses in the French Quarter were also slave quarters, and we’re trying to educate in a way where it’s not like preachy or aggressive. We’re just showing people what happened here.”

Their next challenge will take place at a public school in Seattle.

“ We’re making a video where we allow the school to earn up to $20,000 of fundraising,” he said. “We’re realizing that we can actually use these videos to educate a bit more about things like the lack of public school funding. So it’s a full loop because although we are creating content and making money, we are also giving it back.”

You can follow and learn more about Cashtronaut’s challenges on their YouTube page, www.youtube.com/channel/UCdXRY4jVYEmXaPfWskicV8A. Additional information about Whispering Willows Farm can be found at wwfarmanddairy.com/.

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Top-5 recruit Oliviyah Edwards requests release from signing to Tennessee

Published

19 hours ago

April 4, 2026

Press Room

Top-5 recruit Oliviyah Edwards requests release from signing to Tennessee

Top-5 recruit Oliviyah Edwards has requested a release from her signing to Tennessee, sources told Rivals. Edwards, ranked No. 5 on Rivals, is a 6-3 forward from Washington.

She originally chose the Lady Vols over USC, South Carolina, LSU, Florida and Washington.

“I’d say I’m very versatile,” Edwards previously said of her game. “I think that as a big, I do have good handles. I could also post up the little, tiny ones. I feel like it’s hard to guard when I can shoot, I can get to the basket and I could create my own shot. That’s really hard to guard, especially with my height. I also know how to pass the ball too.”

Edwards previously talked to Rivals about several factors that would play a role in her decision.

“I would say that family aspect,” Edwards said. “I want to be able to have a home away from home. That’s really the main thing that I’m looking for. Who do I feel closest with? Who do I know that I can build and grow with? Everything else I feel like, for me, will fall into place. I know, anywhere I go, I’m gonna get better. Anywhere I go, they’re gonna have a good facility. They’re gonna have nice things. In that aspect. I’m not really materialistic. I’m just looking at, okay, how do the players get along? How do the coaches coach? What’s the style of play? I really want to fit in here, not just basketball wise. I want them to love me for who I am and everything I’ve got going on. I want to be able to call these girls my sisters – to be able to, even after I’m done, be over at the coach’s houses. These are people I want to have long, deep connections with.”

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Tennessee

Is Taco Bell open on Easter? What’s open and closed in Tennessee

Published

1 day ago

April 4, 2026

Press Room

Is Taco Bell open on Easter? What’s open and closed in Tennessee

Many national chain restaurants and fast-food spots will be open on Easter Sunday for those seeking a convenient holiday meal.
It is recommended to call local restaurants or smaller chains to confirm their holiday operating hours.

If Easter Sunday snuck up on you and your fridge is empty, you’re not alone, and many restaurants will be open, providing convenient options for a holiday meal without the stress.

Amidst egg hunts, church services, and family visits, preparing a full Easter meal isn’t always feasible. However, this doesn’t mean the day has to be dull.

Most restaurants choose to stay open on Easter Sunday, but several choose to close instead and let employees enjoy the day. There are also restaurants closed every Sunday, so don’t expect any fresh chicken minis from Chick-fil-A in any Easter baskets.

Here are the restaurants that will be open and closed on Easter Sunday in Tennessee.

When is Easter 2026?

Easter Sunday will fall on April 5 in 2026.

The earliest date Easter can be is March 22, so while it may feel early this year compared to last year’s April 20, the holiday is right on time.

What restaurants are open for Easter 2026?

Most national chain restaurants will remain open throughout the state. For smaller chain eateries or popular local spots, it is advisable to call in advance to verify their Sunday operating hours.

What fast-food restaurants are open on Easter 2026?

Most national chains will still be open across Tennessee for the holiday. As for smaller chains or local hot spots, it is recommended to call ahead to confirm their hours on Sunday.