The 2026 Tennessee Vols will certainly look different than the 2025 version. That’s not out of the ordinary in the NIL and transfer portal era that we’re living in. Players come and go in search of better opportunities each year.

But it’s a different “look” that Tennessee will have in 2026, and it’s one that we all want: stronger, slimmer, and faster. And that’s thanks to the yeoman’s work that new strength and conditioning coach Derek Owings has pulled off this offseason.

Josh Heupel hired Owings away from Indiana after helping the Hoosiers win the national championship last year. He went to work at helping Tennessee change their bodies and physical talents for the better, and the early returns have been astounding.

DeSean Bishop might be the most yoked player in the SEC. George MacIntyre even managed to put on 13 pounds this offseason, something that sorely needed to happen.

And before the 2026 season has even begun, a couple of Vols starters have shown off improved times and results on the practice field. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman put out his 2026 “Freaks List” for college football, and LB Arion Carter (No. 6) and WR Mike Matthews (No. 71) made the list.

Tennessee LB Arion Carter and WR Mike Matthews made Bruce Feldman’s 2026 college football ‘Freak List’

“He was in the top 12 on the Freaks List last year, and he’s moving up after improving his vert a few inches to 42 1/2 and upping his bench press to 400 pounds (up 75 pounds),” Feldman said of Carter. “The former high school 300-meter hurdle standout also recently clocked a 21.7 mph on the GPS (up from 21.2 last year). The 6-1, 238-pounder is a great student who has been on the SEC Academic Honor Roll each of the previous three seasons. He is also an All-SEC player and team captain who last year led the conference in tackles per game with 7.6.”

A 75-pound increase is flat-out freakish over a year’s time, and hitting 400 on the bench press is one that should have him among the top performers at linebacker when he hits the NFL Combine next year.

Approaching 22 miles per hour is also wide receiver-esque, so Carter’s sideline-to-sideline speed should be that much faster this year when pursuing ballcarriers.

“A former five-star recruit who enters his second season as a starter, he caught 53 passes for 813 yards and four touchdowns,” Feldman said of Matthews. “The 6-1, 200-pounder has really benefited from the arrival of new strength coach Derek Owings, who came from national champion Indiana. Matthews has improved his top-end speed to 23.0 mph and his 1.43-second 10-yard split also stands out. Matthews also vertical jumped 38 1/2 inches.”

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Matthews has improved his speed off the snap, his straight line speed, and added an elite leaping ability to go with it. That screams potential big plays on the outside this fall.

Of course, how well the rest of the roster has transformed and performs on the field matters, but Tennessee has two of the biggest “freaks” in all of college football to fall back on this fall, and that should be exciting for Vol fans to watch.