Vols fans aren’t happy with comments SEC coaches made about UT, but those coaches nailed it a year ago with their prediction for Tennessee
Some anonymous SEC coaches made some comments about the Tennessee Vols to Athlon Sports that aren’t sitting well with fans on Rocky Top. Those coaches, though, nailed their predictions a year ago.
Tennessee Vols fans didn’t love the comments made this week by anonymous coaches to Athlon Sports.
The anonymous comments, which have become an annual spring tradition, suggested that Tennessee doesn’t have the same “energy or excitement” without a veteran quarterback (the Vols will be relying on either redshirt freshman George MacIntyre or true freshman Faizon Brandon in 2026).
Another coach said that Tennessee “won’t be better” this year than they were in 2025 when the program finished 8-5.
Some fans were dismissive of the comments, but that’s probably not a wise approach.
Anonymous coaches nailed their criticism of the Vols last year
After seeing the comments that were made this week, I decided to take a look at what was said by the “anonymous coaches” last year to Athlon Sports.
And, well, those coaches pretty much nailed it.
Here are the various quotes, via Athlon Sports, from last year about the Vols.
“Losing Nico [Iamaleava] isn’t good. They’re not replacing him with a more talented quarterback, and they’re losing the QB who ran their system in a playoff game. But because of the way everything went down, I don’t think anyone blames the program or Josh [Heupel], and with the turnover on defense, Nico leaving makes a transition year a lot easier to stomach.”
“The offense won’t fall off a cliff; that system is effective at adjusting for personnel, even the quarterback.”
“The bigger question, even after Nico, is replacing the defensive starters who carried them in big games. The secondary is legit and probably their strength right now.”
“They’re going to take a step back and won’t be a playoff team this season, but the quarterback play won’t be awful.”
It’s hard to argue with any of that based on what we saw last season. Tennessee did take a step back and failed to make the College Football Playoff, but most fans were understanding considering the situation with quarterback Nico Iamaleava that went down last spring.
Also, the defense took a huge step back last season (which led to a defensive coordinator change).
And, on a positive note, as the last quote predicted, that quarterback play wasn’t awful (Joey Aguilar passed for 3,565 yards and 24 touchdowns).
We obviously don’t know what’s in store for Tennessee in 2026 — just because the anonymous coaches were correct last year doesn’t mean they will be again this year — but I don’t think it’s wise to be completely dismissive of the criticism. There’s likely a decent amount of truth there…