‘I was kinda coming into the season with low expectations’ – Former Vols QB makes honest admission on how he felt about Tennessee in 2025

Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Matt Simms admitted this week that he didn’t have high expectations for UT football in 2025. Tennessee’s 45-26 win against Syracuse in the season-opener, however, quickly changed how Simms feels about the Vols this fall. Simms, who played at Tennessee from 2010 to 2011, joined WNML’s SportsTalk on Wednesday to discuss […]

Zach Ragan Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Tennessee Vols quarterback Matt Simms admitted this week that he didn’t have high expectations for UT football in 2025.

Tennessee’s 45-26 win against Syracuse in the season-opener, however, quickly changed how Simms feels about the Vols this fall.

Simms, who played at Tennessee from 2010 to 2011, joined WNML’s SportsTalk on Wednesday to discuss the Vols’ win against Syracuse.

“Honestly, I was kind of coming into the season with low expectations,” said Simms. “And I can’t lie — I was like, really, really pumped after that game against Syracuse. Now, I know Syracuse might be a little down compared to who they were a year ago, but still, just the look of the team, the way that they played, the intensity.

“I mean, I feel like Tennessee played with an intensity that was similar to Florida State [against] Alabama, right? It was just aggressive all the time, which I love. And which I credit the coaching staff for doing that.”

Plenty of folks were down on Tennessee entering the 2025 season simply due to all of the unknowns surrounding the program.

The Vols’ Week 1 win against Syracuse, though, showed that Tennessee is in good shape at quarterback with Joey Aguilar, the offensive line looks improved, the defense is still pretty good, the running backs are elite, and the wide receivers got off to a solid start.

There’s a long way to go this season, but it’s easy to see why Simms’ opinion on the Volunteers in 2025 is different after the program’s dominant Week 1 win.