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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Tennessee

Tennessee lawmakers discuss priorities for upcoming session

Published

9 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Tennessee lawmakers discuss priorities for upcoming session

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Tennessee lawmakers are preparing to discuss hundreds of bills as the state legislature convenes, with mental health funding emerging as a priority for two lawmakers.

State Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, and state Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knox County, said mental health care funding will be a focus of upcoming legislative conversations.

“It’s been a big topic,” McKenzie said.

“That’s going to be very top of my mind as far as working and advocating for that,” Massey said.

Massey, who chairs the Transportation Committee, said the state needs more money for road expansion. She expressed concerns about insufficient funding for billion of dollars worth of road projects.

“People are paying less to drive on our roads and the cost of building roads are going up. So your gas tax is going down, the cost of building roads is going up,” Massey said.

McKenzie stressed the need for more public education funding following the first year of families using state dollars for private school through the voucher program.

“In Knox County, our numbers are up. Actually, in Memphis, their numbers are up, so I think some of the changes we’ve made in regard to public education and putting a few more dollars in, I think we can continue that process,” McKenzie said.

State House Speaker Cameron Sexton has said he wants to at least double the voucher program to offer it to 40,000 to 50,000 families. Both Massey and McKenzie expressed skepticism about the expansion.

“This isn’t about those kids in failing schools, this is about their friends, the rich or almost rich, that are just wanting a check from the government,” McKenzie said.

Massey cited revenue concerns about the expansion.

“I’m not getting the vibes that there is going to be enough revenue to do that because we’ve got other funding needs also,” Massey said.

Massey added the state could expand the program this year, but perhaps to 5,000 more families.

The General Assembly will reconvene next Tuesday.

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Tennessee

Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee

Published

21 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A Tennessee sheriff’s office is asking the community to pray for a family whose 5-year-old was hospitalized after falling into a swimming pool.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and family members were “administering life-saving measures” Thursday afternoon after pulling the child out of the water.

The child was then transferred to a hospital, where they are still being treated.

“The child was subsequently transported to the hospital, where they are currently receiving medical care‚” said a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further details will be released at this time.”

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Why first quarter was ‘crucial’ in Mississippi State’s loss to Tennessee

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Why first quarter was ‘crucial’ in Mississippi State’s loss to Tennessee

Sam Purcell felt good about the game plan for Mississippi State women’s basketball’s matchup with Tennessee.

But the Bulldogs gave up 26 points in the first quarter and trailed by seven points. It was a deficit they never recovered from in a 90-80 loss to the Lady Vols at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 8.

“You look at that that first quarter, I thought it was crucial. We had a great scout, a great game plan, but we didn’t talk on ball screens,” Purcell said. “Their largest quarter was that first quarter, and we’re going to watch back and go, dang it, we need to be more vocal. And you got to give them credit – top to bottom, they’re probably as good as anybody in the country with athleticism. So you can’t let those athletic kids turn the corner for wide open layups, and we did.”

Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Francis led the Bulldogs with 22 points each, but MSU didn’t have enough defense to pull off the upset.

Had Mississippi State been able to slow down Tennessee’s drivers in the first quarter, it may have been a different result. But once the Bulldogs started slowing that down, the Lady Vols were “phenomenal hitting some big-time shots,” Purcell said.

Tennessee only had the edge in points in the paint, 42-40, but it also went 10-for-27 on 3-pointers, which was an area Mississippi State couldn’t match. The Bulldogs shot 2-for-13 from deep.

MSU also couldn’t stop Tennessee freshman point guard Mia Pauldo, who scored a game-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The Bulldogs sent her to the foul line time and time again, and she went 8-for-9 on free throws.

“I thought (Pauldo) was poised, she was clutch,” Purcell said. “Obviously, that’s what you need in games like this that are gonna come down the to the wire. You need players to step up, and I thought she was the X factor for them.”

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