Tennessee
Tennessee Football Falls in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 Rankings Post Spring Camp | Rocky Top Insider
Tennessee football’s spring camp is in the books following its Orange and White Game this past Saturday. With spring practices across the country coming to a close, ESPN updated its way-too-early top 25 rankings.
According to the rankings compiled by Mark Schlabach, UT is the No. 25 team in the country. This is a one-spot fall from the rankings he released heading into spring camp.
This mark is good for eighth in the SEC. The Vols trail No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 Texas, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 11 LSU, No. 13 Oklahoma and No. 16 Alabama.
“After a disappointing 2025 season, Volunteers coach Josh Heupel made a big move on defense by firing coordinator Tim Banks and replacing him with former Penn State coordinator Jim Knowles, who helped Ohio State win the 2024 national title,” Schlabach wrote. “The Vols ranked 14th in the SEC in scoring defense (28.8 points) and total defense (397.2 yards) last season. Campbell, Coleman, Gilliam and Lane followed Knowles to UT and should be impact players. A Tennessee judge denied Aguilar’s injunction for another year of eligibility. Heupel didn’t land a big-time quarterback in the transfer portal after pursuing Ty Simpson and Sam Leavitt. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon will battle for the job in the spring.”
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The biggest question for Tennessee as it prepares for fall camp is the quarterback position. The Vols are holding a three-man race, but the likely option is between redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon.
Josh Heupel said the battle will rage on through the summer and into fall camp, and no decision has been made in the spring. The public got its first view of both options during the Orange and White Game, though.
“I do love the growth from that group,” Heupel said on the quarterbacks after the scrimmage. “I love the way that they competed with themselves, with each other, I love the way that they’ve grown every single day. Each of them maybe had a day where it was a little bit below what they had shown and their expectations, too. They responded and came back the next day and were a lot better. So, there’s a lot of positives, a lot of things that they and we have to work on as a football team.”
The other burning question is about the defense as a whole. Tennessee fired defensive coordinator Tim Banks and replaced him with national champion coordinator Jim Knowles. He has retooled the personnel and brought in multiple new assistant coaches, as well.
Tennessee’s redistricting special session Day 1 recap
State lawmakers returned to the capitol for a special session May 5 to consider carving Memphis into Republican-safe districts.
Tennessee House District 93 officially has someone in its briefly vacant seat.
Willis Lincoln TJ Hardaway III will hold the seat until the next general election in November. He has not made a decision as to if he will run officially for the seat yet, but will listen to the will of his constituents.
The house seat was formerly held by his father, State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, a Democrat from Memphis. Hardaway died on April 24. His death left the Tennessee House District 93 seat, which encompasses South Memphis and Orange Mound and stretches to Shelby Farms, open.
Hardaway was nominated by acclamation by the board. After he was nominated to the position, he spoke to commissioners and thanked all of them by name. He said he spent the last year spending a lot of time with his father, wanted to get to know him.
“This could not have been better timing. Last year, I spent various moments one on one with my father, for no other reason other than wanting to know more about the man…turns out I already knew the man because I already know myself,” Hardaway said.
He will travel to Nashville the evening of May 6 and be sworn in to office.
The Shelby County Commission moved swiftly to appoint someone to the seat due to the state legislature being called into a special session. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called a special session of the Tennessee General Assembly to review the state’s congressional map on May 1, with the session beginning on May 5.
The push for redistricting Tennessee’s Congressional districts came from President Donald Trump, after the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back protections of the Voting Rights Act. The General Assembly was gaveled into the special session on May 5, which was also election day for many counties in Tennessee.
A map revealed the morning of May 6 splits the state’s 9th Congressional District and carves up Tennessee’s only majority-Black congressional seat, in Memphis. The new map shows three districts in Memphis, two of which stretch all the way to Williamson County outside Nashville.
Brooke Muckerman is the education and children’s issues and politics reporter for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Rising fertilizer costs and global supply concerns could affect Tennessee farmers and eventually push food prices higher, according to a recent MarketWatch analysis and agricultural data.
An American Farm Bureau Federation survey of more than 5,700 farmers found that about 70% said they may not be able to afford all the fertilizer they need this year.
Tennessee farmers could feel those pressures as well. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture reports the state is a major producer of crops such as soybeans and corn, both of which rely heavily on fertilizer.
Higher costs for farmers can ripple through the food supply. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has previously reported that increases in production expenses, including fertilizer, can contribute to higher food prices for consumers.
Nationally, food prices remain elevated. Grocery costs are still rising, with the USDA predicting an overall price increase of 2.9% this year.
The issue is tied in part to possible global factors. Fertilizer prices have risen amid geopolitical tensions and supply constraints, including disruptions linked to international conflicts and competition for key materials used in fertilizer production, according to a report out of the University of Illinois.
While U.S. agriculture remains stable overall, analysts warn that reduced planting or higher input costs in 2027 could tighten supply and put additional pressure on prices.
For Tennessee, where agriculture remains a key part of the economy, the impact could be felt both on farms and at the checkout line.
The Tennessee Volunteers were well represented when it came to the NFL Draft. They had multiple selections during the draft, and multiple players signed with a team following the draft, but one player had to compete for a roster spot during a mini camp, as he was invited to mini camp to make a name for himself.
That player is former Tennessee Vols running back Star Thomas, who left for the NFL after just one season with the Vols due to his loss of eligibility. Thomas was a split backup for the Vols, and he finished with 564 yards, as he was the No. 2 and No. 3 at different points throughout the season. The only running back he fell behind entirely was DeSean Bishop, who led the pack between Thomas, Peyton Lewis (who transferred to Virginia), and himself.
Tennessee Football RB Star Thomas Receives His NFL Fate After Tennessee Titans Camp
Thomas was invited to stay inside the state of Tennessee and compete with the Tennessee Titans in their mini camp for a chance to stay on the roster and be signed, but unfortunately enough for him, he didn’t receive a contract and will not sign with the Titans, as they are now moving on from him. While this can be viewed as shocking that he isn’t with an NFL team, it also makes sense as to why the Titans will not have him on the roster.
The Titans are already loaded at the RB position, as they have built a deep and reliable running back group. They will be starting with Tony Pollard in the lineup, but he will be backed up by Rookie Nick Singleton, Tyjae Spears, Michael Carter, Julius Chestnut, and Kalel Mullings. If they were to add a guy like Thomas, he would never find his way onto the field, and it would be holding the Titans back from adding a player to a position of need.
Thomas’s future in the NFL remains uncertain, as no teams have contacted him for a second chance, which leaves Thomas with very few options. He could be looking to find a new home elsewhere, or could be trying to get himself into a different league and be a star there. If the talented prospect is given a chance for a team that needs a running back, then things could be different, but it will depend on what the roster looks like and what type of player a team is looking to bring in.
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