Former Alabama QB Greg McElroy gives the Tennessee Vols some major respect in his 2024 preseason Top 25 rankings
Tennessee Vols fans aren't too happy these days with former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy, now a college football analyst for ESPN, thanks to the comments he made about UT baseball coach Tony Vitello last month. McElroy took umbrage with Vitello's celebration after Tennessee beat Texas A&M in the College World Series. He later […]
Tennessee Vols fans aren't too happy these days with former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy, now a college football analyst for ESPN, thanks to the comments he made about UT baseball coach Tony Vitello last month.
McElroy took umbrage with Vitello's celebration after Tennessee beat Texas A&M in the College World Series. He later apologized for his comments — which included calling Vitello's antics "embarrassing" — but the damage was already done in the eyes of Tennessee fans.
Vols fans, however, might soften their stance on McElroy a bit after hearing where he has Tennessee ranked in his preseason Top 25 rankings.
The former Alabama quarterback is a bit higher on the Vols than most of the national media, ranking Tennessee at No. 10 ahead of the 2024 season.
McElroy noted that he's high on Tennessee in 2024 due to the expected improvement at the quarterback position with Nico Iamaleava set to take over for Joe Milton as the Vols' starter.
"I think he's (Nico) going to be a considerable upgrade compared to what Tennessee played with at the position last year," said McElroy. "Look, Joe Milton had a big arm. Joe Milton had a ridiculously high ceiling. The problem is Joe Milton missed too many throws. That's why he was benched at Michigan. That's why he was benched in favor of Hendon Hooker early in his career at Tennessee. He misses too many layups. I don't think Nico's going to."
McElroy also pointed out that he likes Tennessee's talent at the skill positions (specifically wide receiver and tight end). And he thinks the Vols' defense could be "pretty good" this fall.
"Tennessee's in at No. 10, feel really good about the possibility of them crashing the playoff party," said McElroy.
I don't know if McElroy's positive comments about Tennessee football make up for his comments about Vitello in the eyes of UT fans, but it's a reminder that the former Crimson Tide signal caller is typically fair when it comes to his analysis of the Volunteers (just as long as no one from the football team celebrates like Vitello at any point this season).
Tennessee Vols have 2 big trap games on the schedule in 2024 that they need to approach carefully
Can’t afford to lose either of them
