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Tennessee Football Returns to Neyland Stadium in 100 Days | Rocky Top Insider

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Tennessee Football Returns to Neyland Stadium in 100 Days | Rocky Top Insider


Tennessee Football. Photo by Ric Butler/Rocky Top Insider.

The countdown is officially on.

There are 100 days left on the calendar until Tennessee’s season opener as of Thursday.

While the summer doesn’t present too many storylines heading into the fall, the big note to look for during July is SEC Media Days. The addition of Texas and Oklahoma into the Southeastern Conference only adds to the magnitude of the upcoming season, with perhaps no better fitting place for the event than Dallas, TX.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is set for Day 2 of the event on July 16 alongside Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz, and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables.

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Training camp will begin in August on the other side of SEC Media Days as Tennessee gets ready for the season ahead. The Vols have been commonly tagged as a Top 20 preseason team on the fringe of the Top 15 with quarterback Nico Iamaleava as a darkhorse Heisman contender. Tennessee also boasts EDGE rusher James Pearce Jr., who could solidify his spot as the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2025 NFL Draft with a strong showing.

Tennessee opens up the 2024 season in a home contest against Chattanooga on August 31. The Vols will quickly hit the road, though, with a likely Top 25 non-conference game under the lights in Charlotte, NC, against NC State in week two. Tennessee then returns home for a non-conference game against Kent State before taking off for unfamiliar territory in their first SEC game against Oklahoma in Norman, OK.

After an open date closes the final weekend of September for Tennessee, the Vols head out to Arkansas for a second-straight road SEC game to open the conference slate before returning to Knoxville for a pair of high-profile rivalry games. Tennessee will host Florida and Alabama in back-to-back weeks in October before another open date closes down the month.

With five weekends in the month of November, Tennessee will face their longest stretch of games to close the season with back-to-back home games against Kentucky and Mississippi State before traveling to Athens, GA, for a matchup with Georgia on Nov. 16. Tennessee then returns home for the home-finale against UTEP before the season-finale against Vanderbilt in Nashville.

More from RTI: Nation’s Top 2025 Tackle David Sanders Jr. Schedules Visit to Tennessee

Here’s a look at the key dates you need to know with 100 days between now and the start of the Vols’ 2024 season:

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July

SEC Media Days (Dallas, TX)

  • July 15: Brian Kelly, Lane Kiffin, Shane Beamer, Clark Lea
  • July 16: Kirby Smart, Eliah Drinkwitz, Brent Venables, Josh Heupel
  • July 17: Kalen DeBoer, Billy Napier, Jeff Lebby, Steve Sarkisian
  • July 18: Sam Pittman, Hugh Freeze, Mark Stoops, Mike Elko

 

August

  • TBA: Start of Tennessee Football fall camp
  • Aug. 31: Chattanooga at Tennessee (Knoxville)

 

September

  • Sep. 7: Tennessee vs NC State (Charlotte, NC)
  • Sep. 14: Kent State at Tennessee (Knoxville)
  • Sep. 21: Tennessee at Oklahoma (Norman, OK)
  • Sep. 28: OPEN

 

October

  • Oct. 5: Tennessee at Arkansas (Fayetteville, AR)
  • Oct. 12: Florida at Tennessee (Knoxville)
  • Oct. 19: Alabama at Tennessee (Knoxville)
  • Oct. 26: OPEN

 

November

  • Nov. 2: Kentucky at Tennessee (Knoxville)
  • Nov. 9: Mississippi State at Tennessee (Knoxville)
  • Nov. 16: Tennessee at Georgia (Athens, GA)
  • Nov. 23: UTEP at Tennessee (Knoxville)
  • Nov. 30: Tennessee at Vanderbilt (Nashville, TN)

 

December

  • Dec. 7: SEC Championship (Atlanta, GA)
  • Dec. 20-21: CFP First Round
  • Dec. 31: Fiesta Bowl (Quarterfinals)

 

January

  • Jan. 1: Peach Bowl (Quarterfinals)
  • Jan. 1: Sugar Bowl (Quarterfinals)
  • Jan. 1: Rose Bowl (Quarterfinals)
  • Jan. 9: Orange Bowl (Semifinals)
  • Jan. 10: Cotton Bowl (Semifinals)
  • Jan. 20: National Championship (Atlanta, GA)

 





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Tennessee

Potential mass shooter fatally shoots self after causing lockdown in Tennessee

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Potential mass shooter fatally shoots self after causing lockdown in Tennessee


A suspect fatally shot himself after entering an office building near a shopping mall and causing a lockdown, local cops in Tennessee said Monday.

The incident happened around 2 p.m. local time when the man went into the building near the Hamilton Place shopping mall in Chattanooga.

Several businesses in the area went into lockdown.

“A shooter was inside the building and was attempting to execute a plan. That failed,” Chattanooga Police Department Sgt. Victor Miller told reporters. “We found that he shot himself, and he is deceased.”

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No other injuries were reported. Police did not say how many shots may have been fired. The incident occurred in an office park with multiple business and agencies, but it’s unknown where exactly the shooting unfolded. No other details about the man’s plan were made available, and his identity was not immediately released.

The situation — which was originally reported as a mass shooter event — remains under investigation, police said. The lockdowns were lifted after about two hours, when cops determined there was no more threat to public safety.

Miller said more information would be made public at a later time.



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Texas A&M College World Series Finals Game 3 vs. Tennessee: How to Watch, Betting Odds

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Texas A&M College World Series Finals Game 3 vs. Tennessee: How to Watch, Betting Odds


The Texas A&M Aggies are just one away from their first-ever national title in baseball.

After opening up the final series vs. the Tennessee Volunteers with a resounding 9-5 win, the Aggies fell 4-1 in Game 2, evening the series at 1-1, and setting up a decisive Game 3 on Monday night.

“Close ball game, just exactly what you’d expect with these two teams,” Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle said after the Game 2 loss. “To think you’d roll right through it in two games, that would’ve been nice. We get to play the last college baseball game of the season and that’s awesome.”

Taking the mound for the Aggies will be starter Justin Lamkin who currently sits at 3-2 with a 5.00 ERA, and averages 12.3 strikeouts per game.

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Meanwhile, for the Volunteers, the ball will go to Zander Sechrist, who sits at 5-1 with a 3.22 ERA.

So can the Aggies overcome the odds and upset the favored Volunteers to capture their first ever baseball national title?

Here is how you can tune in to the matchup, as well as the betting odds (via Fan Duel):

WHAT: Texas A&M Aggies vs. Tennessee Volunteers – College World Series Final

WHERE: Charles Schwab Field, Omaha, NE (Capacity: 24,000)

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WHEN: Game 3 – Monday, June 24- 6 p.m.

TV: Game 3 (if necessary) – ESPN/ESPN+

RADIO: 1150 AM/93.7 FM, TAMU Sports Network

SPREAD: Tennessee: -1.5 (-140), Texas A&M: +1.5 (+108)

MONEY LINE: Tennessee: -260, Texas A&M: +196

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OVER/UNDER: 10.5 (Over -108/Under -122)



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Replacing Derrick Henry doesn’t end with Spears, Pollard: Tennessee Titans search for RB3

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Replacing Derrick Henry doesn’t end with Spears, Pollard: Tennessee Titans search for RB3


Replacing Derrick Henry won’t just be the job of two men.

In Henry’s five healthy seasons, from 2018 to 2023, the Tennessee Titans handed the ball to their No. 3 running back an average of 0.75 times per game. Their No. 3 running back in 2023, Jonathan Ward, carried just three times all season.

For comparison, the average No. 3 NFL back in 2023 carried 32 times. The Pittsburgh Steelers were the only team that used a third tailback less frequently than the Titans.

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Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard are taking over Henry’s mantle atop the depth chart, but without a Henry-like presence touching the ball 30 times per game, the Titans need more bodies.

MEET THE COACH: Melting cleats, walking dogs: Inside Lori Locust’s journey from women’s football to NFL, Tennessee Titans

“You’re not just going to have two backs. You’re actually going to have to platoon about three of them,” Titans running backs coach Randy Jordan told The Tennessean. “That third guy’s got to be a special teams guy. He’s got to be a guy we can count on. I really look for that third guy to be able to play on first, second and third down and be able to be a plug-and-play guy. It’s a really, really big decision.”

The Titans’ options beyond Spears and Pollard are: 2022 fourth-round pick Hassan Haskins; two-year practice squad player Julius Chestnut; and undrafted rookies Jabari Small and Dillon Johnson. The four players have 34 NFL carries combined, and none since 2022.

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No player in that bunch should be expected to replace Henry, but Jordan has various reasons for why he’s excited about the depth of his room.

Tennessee Titans’ running back depth, analyzed

The biggest question mark about the Spears-Pollard tandem is to whom the Titans will turn in situations that call for a bigger back. This is where Haskins can stake his claim to the No. 3 job.

“Hassan, he’s one that I’m really intrigued with,” Jordan said. “Big backs, I kind of like coaching those guys. They have a different type of skill set. I call it being a bully. I say, ‘Look, God made you that size. Let’s make sure we let people know that you’re the bully on every play.’ “

Jordan says the 6-foot-2, 228-pound Haskins is doing a good job of absorbing information and executing plays. Haskins hasn’t played since 2022, though, and he’s not the Titans’ only bigger option. Chestnut measures in at 5-11, 228 pounds, and Johnson is 5-11, 217 pounds.

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More than filling one specific role, though, Jordan says the main thing he’s looking for from a No. 3 back is consistency. He doesn’t want players who know the protections on Wednesday but forget them by Friday, or players who have energy on Thursdays but not Mondays.

With regards to consistency, he has been pleased with his two rookies. Small, the Tennessee product, and Johnson, the Washington standout, roomed together throughout OTAs and minicamp, helping each other learn the offense. Both have significant learning curves coming from wide-open college passing attacks, starting even with huddling for the first time.

But both expressed confidence in their fit with the Titans.

“I think it complements me,” Johnson said. “I played at Washington where we threw the ball a lot, but we also ran the ball a lot. So that’s kind of a balanced attack.”

“It’s definitely a learning curve as far as what I’ve been doing the past three years, but football is football,” Small added. “Everybody runs the same things. It’s just different formations, different terminology.”

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Jordan called Small the team’s “tweener.” Come training camp, Jordan is excited to see how Small responds in pass protection, because he’s already fairly confident in his pass-catching ability and versatility.

Between the practice squad and active roster, it’s plausible the Titans could hold on to Haskins, Chestnut, Johnson and Small, especially with the added value running backs provide under the new kickoff rules. But given the need for balanced depth everywhere, it’s most likely the player who makes the 53-man roster as the No. 3 running back will have to be dependable as a runner, receiver, blocker and tackler.

Figuring out who that should be will earn Jordan his paycheck.

“It’s probably one of the most important things as a coach that I’m going to have to do this year,” Jordan said.

BETTER WITHOUT THE KING? Here’s case Tennessee Titans can be better with Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears than Derrick Henry

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Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.



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