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.