Tennessee
Tennessee Titans preview 2023: Over or Under 7.5 wins? Chances to claim AFC South title?
It’s NFL team preview time, and today we’re looking at the Tennessee Titans. Each Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from July 25 through Sept. 8, we will take an in-depth look at each team in the NFL with a 7- to 10-minute video going through impactful additions and departures, last year’s rankings and strength of schedule in 2023.
Bet.NOLA.com analyst Jim Derry will then make a prediction on the team’s record this season and where they will finish in their respective division, along with the over/under win total, as posted by our partners at Caesars Sportsbook.
These stories are a brief summary of the accompanied preview videos – powered by the Dattitude Podcast (which will review each division every Friday until the season begins). The schedule for when each team will run is listed below with a link to each story and video that already has run.
TENNESSEE TITANS
Coach: Mike Vrabel (6th season)
2022 record: 7-10, third in AFC South; did not make playoffs.
2023 bye week: 7
2023 Draft: 1 (11th overall pick), T Peter Skoronski, Northwestern; 2 (33) QB Will Levis, Kentucky; 3 (81) RB Tyjae Spears, Tulane; 5 (147) TE Josh Whyle, Cincinnati; 6 (186) T/G Jaelyn Duncan, Maryland; 7 (228) WR Colton Dowell, Tennessee-Martin.
Free-agent signings: T Andre Dillard (from Philadelphia), 3 years, $29M; OLB Arden Key (from Jacksonville), 3 years, $21M; WR DeAndre Hopkins (from Arizona), 2 years, $26M; T Daniel Brunskill (from San Francisco), 2 years, $5.5M; LB Luke Gifford (from Dallas), 2 years, $4M; LB Azeez Al-Shaair (from San Francisco), 1 year, $5M; CB Sean Murphy-Bunting (from Tampa Bay), 1 year, $3.5M; WR Chris Moore (from Houston), 1 year, $1.32M; FB Trevon Wesco (from Chicago), 1 year, $1.23M; DT Jaleel Johnson (from Atlanta), 1 year, $1.08M; LB Ben Niemann (from Arizona), 1 year, $1.08M.
Key moments in video: Last year’s rankings don’t tell the whole story (1:33); Offense will be a lot better than it was in 2022, including the offensive line (2:29); Mike Vrabel won’t stand for what he watched last year; odds and totals (3:58); Easiest and toughest parts of schedule (6:06); Over/Under win totals, predictions and projected record and finish in division (8:15)
PREVIEW SCHEDULE / LINKS
AFC SOUTH
July 25: Houston Texans
July 26: Indianapolis Colts
July 27: Jacksonville Jaguars
July 28: Tennessee Titans
NFC WEST
Aug. 1: Arizona Cardinals
Aug. 2: Los Angeles Rams
Aug. 3: San Francisco 49ers
Aug. 4: Seattle Seahawks
AFC WEST
Aug. 8: Denver Broncos
Aug. 9: Kansas City Chiefs
Aug. 10: Las Vegas Raiders
Aug. 11: Los Angeles Chargers
NFC EAST
Aug. 15: Dallas Cowboys
Aug. 16: New York Giants
Aug. 17: Philadelphia Eagles
Aug. 18: Washington Commanders
AFC EAST
Aug. 22: Buffalo Bills
Aug. 23: Miami Dolphins
Aug. 24: New England Patriots
Aug. 25: New York Jets
NFC NORTH
Aug. 29: Chicago Bears
Aug. 29: Detroit Lions
Aug. 30: Green Bay Packers
Aug. 30: Minnesota Vikings
AFC NORTH
Aug. 31: Baltimore Ravens
Aug. 31: Cincinnati Bengals
Sept. 1: Cleveland Browns
Sept. 2: Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC SOUTH
Sept. 5: Atlanta Falcons
Sept. 6: Carolina Panthers
Sept. 7: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sept. 8: New Orleans Saints
Tennessee
Tennessee first SEC team with regular-season titles in men’s basketball, baseball, softball in same season
Tennessee athletics are sitting on the Rocky Top, indeed.
The Vols have accomplished major history this season, becoming the first SEC school to win the regular season championship in men’s basketball, baseball and softball in the same season. The Lady Vols are the No. 3 seed and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals this weekend in softball, while the baseball team is the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament, which kicks off Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama.
REQUIRED READING: Why it’s special for Tennessee softball seniors to lead Lady Vols back to NCAA super regional
Tennessee clinched the men’s basketball regular season championship on March 6 with a road victory over South Carolina, its first outright regular season championship since the 2006-07 season. On May 3, Tennessee softball defeated Kentucky in Knoxville to clinch its second straight SEC regular season title. The Vols went on to lose in the quarterfinals.
Following a sweep of South Carolina over the weekend, Tennessee baseball clinched a share of the SEC regular-season championship with Kentucky. It was the second time in three years the Vols won at least a share of the conference championship. They are the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and are currently projected as a No. 2 national seed in the NCAA Tournament by D1Baseball, entering last weekend.
Here’s a look at how each team performed this season:
Tennessee men’s basketball
Tennessee men’s basketball advanced to the Elite Eight in 2023-24, losing to eventual runner-up Purdue. The Vols have qualified for the NCAA Tournament for four straight seasons under coach Rick Barnes.
- Final record: 27-9, 14-4 SEC
- Season finish: Lost to Purdue in Elite Eight
- SEC regular season titles: 11
Tennessee softball
The Lady Vols won their second straight conference regular season championship and the third in program history, all led by coach Karen Weekly. Tennessee swept through the Knoxville Regional to advance to its 13th Super Regional.
- Record: 43-10, 19-5 SEC
- SEC regular season titles: Three
- WCWS ranking: No. 3 overall seed
- Next up: No. 14 seed Alabama in Knoxville Super Regional
Tennessee baseball
Tennessee baseball swept South Carolina, while rival Kentucky dropped its finale to Vanderbilt for the two schools to finish with a share of the regular season championship. The Vols ― led by coach Tony Vitello ― earned the No. 1 seed after taking two of three regular-season games against the Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky, earlier this season.
- Record: 46-10, 22-8 SEC
- SEC regular season titles: Five
- Next up: Winner of the No. 8-No. 9 matchup in SEC Tournament
Tennessee
Heartbreak for Tennessee High, falling 5-1 to Gibbs to end their season
BRISTOL, Tenn. (WCYB) — Sunday was the final day to punch tickets to Murfreesboro, with Tennessee High softball looking to return to the state tournament with a win over Gibbs.
Spending the Sunday at Rotary Park, it was the Lady Eagles of Gibbs striking first with an RBI-Double from Lacey Keck in the top of the first.
Tennessee High at the plate in the bottom of the inning, the Vikings looked for a spark and it was provided by Addie Wilhoit with a stand-up double.
Unable to move the runners around, the Vikings bac on the field and it would be Carly Compton settling in on the mound and collecting strikeout after strikeout.
Handling business in the top of the inning, it was Compton providing her own run support with a solo shot to even the game up in the bottom of the fourth.
Story of the day was stranded runners as Tennessee High came up short, fighting hard but falling 5-1 to close out their season.
Tennessee
Why it’s special for Tennessee softball seniors to lead Lady Vols back to NCAA super regional
Kiki Milloy kicked into another gear when Tennessee softball coach Karen Weekly waved her home Sunday.
The senior outfielder sprinted down the third baseline to beat the throw from left field. Milloy dove, sliding headfirst across home plate – safe.
She rose to her knees to smack the ground as she screamed in celebration. Milloy turned towards the field at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium as she stood up, yelling again for good measure as she put the Lady Vols up by three runs.
Rylie West, who was on deck when Zaida Puni hit the RBI-single, came up to Milloy to join the celebration.
West and Milloy are the only two players left from Tennessee’s 2021 team. They’re the only ones left who felt the pain of back-to-back exits in the NCAA regionals on their home field. They’re two of the biggest reasons it hasn’t happened since.
West hit a two-RBI double right after Milloy scored, and by then, the win was well within their grasp. West followed it with a solo home run in the fifth, and No. 3 Tennessee (43-10) won 6-0 over Virginia (34-20) to claim the Knoxville Regional and advance to the super regionals for the second year in a row.
Two straight years of elation, made even sweeter by the two years before that ended in heartbreak.
“(I’m) just super proud that … we can end our careers differently than how we started them,” West said.
Puni, who transferred to Tennessee from Oklahoma ahead of the 2022 season, called the early exit her first season at UT “heartbreaking.”
“So, we made a commitment to never having that feeling again,” Puni said.
The Lady Vols will host No. 14 Alabama (36-17) in the super regionals. The best-of-three series will start Friday.
Weekly was already getting emotional after the Lady Vols run-ruled Virginia on Saturday. She fought back tears in the dugout as soon as the game ended.
“When they go out and play with so much joy and so much competitiveness and so much passion … They were just locked in and just really, really enjoying competing, and that’s what makes me the happiest,” Weekly said. “Usually wins come with that, but really, that’s what I want them to strive for every day, is just to go out there every day and compete their hearts out.”
Tennessee was dominant in all three victories, not conceding a single run. The Lady Vols outscored opponents 21-0 over 19 innings and hit .329. Karlyn Pickens and Payton Gottshall held opposing hitters to a .109 average and combined for 24 strikeouts.
MORE: Rylie West’s dad saw potential that led to Tennessee softball career. But first he told her to quit
The three-game shutout was the first thing Weekly pointed out when she met with the team after Sunday’s win.
“That’s huge. I doubt that’s being done in any other regional in the country,” Weekly said. “I think it takes just a big weight off these guys’ shoulders as hitters, knowing that our pitchers … they both have the mindset that my job is to keep a zero on the board until our offense can figure things out and get runs up for us. I would imagine they’re a whole lot of fun to play behind.”
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
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