Tennessee

What If Derrick Henry Never Left Titans?

Published

5 months ago

July 5, 2025

What If Derrick Henry Never Left Titans?

It’s been a little over nine years since the Tennessee Titans selected Derrick Henry in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Henry is considered to be one of the best running backs of his generation with eight great years in Tennessee. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens for the 2024 season, finishing second in yards.

NFL.com writer Eric Edholm believes Henry is one of the best valued running backs of the past 25 years.

“Henry initially had his share of doubters, as a king-sized back seemingly from an era of the game’s past, thrust into a league that was obsessed with throwing the football. But he forged his way into becoming one of the NFL’s elite backs, blessed with rare power, size and good durability, but also the kind of sweet feet you rarely see in a 247-pound frame,” Edholm wrote.

“With 11,423 rushing yards and 106 rushing touchdowns, Henry has already secured his place among the game’s best backs ever, in any era. After working in a timeshare his first two seasons, Henry established himself as one of the great lead backs in modern football, helping revive a dormant Titans franchise, then giving the Ravens a boost in his first season in Baltimore in 2024.”

Henry was a game-changer for the Titans and his presence was missed last season when the team won just three games.

Tennessee was forced to change its offense last year without the bulldozing back and it certainly hurt the team. The Titans finished 26th in total offense while Henry’s Ravens came in at No. 1 as the only team with over 7,000 yards across the 17-game season.

The Ravens probably wouldn’t have done as well as they did without Henry and the Titans would have done better. In close games, the Titans would have ran the ball a bit more and killed some clock. That may have led to a few more wins.

If the Titans won a couple more games, they probably wouldn’t have had the chance to take Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick, which means Will Levis may have entered this season as the starting quarterback.

Every decision in the NFL comes with a line of consequences and the Titans should hope Ward has the same kind of value as Henry, if not more, otherwise letting him go would have been a big mistake.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Tennessee

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Published

3 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee football’s 2026 schedule complete with opponents, dates

Tennessee football will host Lane Kiffin, Alex Golesh and possibly Arch Manning at Neyland Stadium in the 2026 season.

UT’s opponents for the next four seasons were previously announced. On Dec. 11, the SEC released the dates of every conference game, providing the full picture of the 2026 schedule.

Game times and television designations will be announced later.

Texas will make its first trip ever to Tennessee on Sept. 26. Manning, the Longhorns quarterback, is expected to return for the 2026 season rather than enter the NFL draft. If so, he’ll face the Vols on the home turf of his uncle, legendary quarterback Peyton Manning.

Golesh, the former UT offensive coordinator, is Auburn’s new coach. He will return to Knoxville for an Oct. 3 game.

Alabama will play at Tennessee on Oct. 17, continuing their Third Saturday in October rivalry game.

Kiffin, the polarizing former UT coach, is now coaching LSU after bolting Ole Miss after the regular season ended. He will return to Knoxville for a Nov. 21 game. Three of the five SEC teams visiting Neyland Stadium will have a first-year coach, including Kentucky’s Will Stein on Nov. 7.

Tennessee will play Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt as annual SEC opponents in the league’s new nine-game conference schedule. Its other six opponents will rotate each season. That means each school will play every SEC opponent home and away every four years.

Tennessee will have one open week on Oct. 31 and thus won’t play on Halloween.

Here is Tennessee’s week-to-week schedule for the 2026 season.

Tennessee football 2026 schedule

Sept. 5: Furman
Sept. 12: At Georgia Tech
Sept. 19: Kennesaw State
Sept. 26: Texas*
Oct. 3: Auburn*
Oct. 10: At Arkansas*
Oct. 17: Alabama*
Oct. 24: At South Carolina*
Oct. 31: Open
Nov. 7: Kentucky*
Nov. 14: At Texas A&M*
Nov. 21: LSU*
Nov. 28: At Vanderbilt*

*SEC game

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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Tennessee

Dragos Cazacu signs with Tennessee

Published

16 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee announced the signing of graduate student Dragos Cazacu on Wednesday. He is from Constanta, Romania.

“Dragos is someone we believe can translate all of his professional experience and success seamlessly to high level college tennis,” Tennessee associate head coach Matt Lucas said. “He’s a very mature young man who has finished university in Romania, so we know the type of student athlete we are getting. Winning ITF Pro Circuit titles, all while doing his degree back home shows he will transition nicely to Tennessee in January.”

Cazacu competed on the ATP Tour prior to Tennessee. His highest ranking was No. 763 in singles and No. 495 in doubles.

Tennessee will begin its spring men’s tennis season versus ETSU on Jan. 9, 2026 at Goodfriend Tennis Center. SEC competition will begin Feb. 21, 2026 at Kentucky.

The Vols’ home opener in SEC play is scheduled for Feb. 27, 2026 versus Auburn at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

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Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, potential top-10 pick, declares for NFL Draft

Published

1 day ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy, potential top-10 pick, declares for NFL Draft

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy announced Wednesday that he will enter the 2026 NFL Draft. McCoy is a potential top-10 pick in this draft class, despite having missed the entire 2025 season with a knee injury.

A transfer from Oregon State following the 2023 season, McCoy earned first-team All-SEC and second-team All-America honors following his first season at Tennessee, in which he registered four interceptions, nine pass breakups and 44 tackles. However, McCoy suffered an ACL injury in January and did not take the field during the Volunteers’ regular season.

“(E)ven though my time on the field was cut short,” McCoy wrote in a statement shared on social media, “I will forever be grateful for my time here at the University of Tennessee. It has been a true honor, and I’m appreciative for every moment I had in the orange and white.”

McCoy (6 feet, 195 pounds) will be one of the most closely scrutinized prospects during the pre-draft cycle, as interested teams wait to see what his updated medical reports reveal.

The junior ranked No. 9 (and as the No. 1 cornerback) on Dane Brugler’s most recent draft board. He was the 16th pick, by Dallas, in Brugler’s mock draft last week.

Dane Brugler’s immediate reaction

A prospect carrying first-round tape from 2024 but no tape from 2025 is not ideal. That said, McCoy will be more than a year removed from his ACL injury when NFL team doctors examine his knee at the combine in February 2026, to (hopefully) verify full health and no long-term concerns.

The timing of his injury could turn out to be something of a positive, because McCoy should be able to work out and test at some point before the draft, giving him a chance to remind teams why he was considered a potential top-10 pick after last season.

LSU’s Mansoor Delane closed ground with his senior season — he’s made a strong case to be CB1 in this class. But McCoy is very much still in that conversation, assuming the medicals come back clean.

HOW DID HE COME UP WITH THIS? 😲
Tennessee shuts down Vandy in the end zone ❌ pic.twitter.com/aUHZeAWC8i
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 30, 2024
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Nick Baumgardner’s scouting report

McCoy was in a really tough spot. A case certainly could’ve been made for McCoy to return to college next year, as he’s played only one full season as a starter in the SEC. And though his 2024 season was pretty great, that performance and 400 or so snaps at Oregon State are all we have to go on here.

Physically, though, McCoy is everything you look for in a high-first-round cornerback. He’s big with very quick feet, natural instincts and terrific ball skills in coverage. Despite not playing a snap this season, McCoy still stacks up as an easy first-rounder on this year’s board, largely because of his physical potential.

Testing will be critical here, and I’m eager to see if McCoy is healthy enough to compete in either the Senior Bowl or Shrine Bowl. He should do as much as he can. We saw a talented player in a similar situation last year when now-Cardinals rookie corner Will Johnson tumbled down the board after not testing or taking part in anything physical during the pre-draft process.

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