‘Could put his offense in a bad spot’ – ESPN gives its take on how the Tennessee Vols will fare in 2026 under Josh Heupel
The offseason is officially here for the Tennessee Vols and rest of college football.
The 2025 college football season ended less than 24 hours ago, but ESPN has already released their early top 25 rankings for the 2026 season.
And they have the Tennessee Vols ranked inside the top 25.
The Volunteers finished the 2025 season unranked after going 8-5 with zero wins against Power-4 teams that finished with a winning record.
ESPN, however, has Tennessee at No. 24 in their early 2026 top 25.
What ESPN’s Mark Schlabach thinks about Tennessee in 2026
It’s obviously very early in the offseason, so opinions on teams will inevitably change over the next six months.
For now, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach believes the Vols should improve defensively in 2026 thanks to Josh Heupel’s coaching staff changes and Tennessee’s transfer portal additions
“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 CFP national title,” wrote Schlabach. “The Vols ranked 14th in the SEC in scoring defense (28.8 points) and total defense (397.2 yards) last season. (Amari) Campbell, (Chaz) Coleman, (Xavier) Gilliam and (Dejuan) Lane followed Knowles to UT and should be impact players.”
While Schlabach seems encouraged by the Vols’ defensive improvements, he expressed concern that Tennessee didn’t add a big-time transfer quarterback.
“Heupel didn’t land a big-time quarterback in the transfer portal after pursuing Ty Simpson and Sam Leavitt, which could put his offense in a bad spot,” noted Schlabach. “It’s unclear whether (Joey) Aguilar will get another year of eligibility — he’s a co-plaintiff in former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s lawsuit against the NCAA. A hearing on the motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Feb. 10. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and freshman Faizon Brandon will be in the QB room, and Heupel added Colorado’s Ryan Staub at the end of the portal cycle.”
There’s no doubt that quarterback is a big unknown for the Vols entering the 2026 season. But Heuepl seems to be comfortable with the idea of starting George MacIntyre or Faizon Brandon.
We’ll see in seven or eight months if that was the right approach by Heupel.
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