‘The media is counting us out’ – Vols QB says Tennessee’s players have a chip on their shoulder in 2025
It hasn’t been the main focus of the offseason, but Tennessee Vols players are well aware that the majority of the media isn’t giving the program much of a chance to return to the College Football Playoff in 2025. The Vols are unranked in several early preseason Top 25 polls, and they were predicted by […]
It hasn’t been the main focus of the offseason, but Tennessee Vols players are well aware that the majority of the media isn’t giving the program much of a chance to return to the College Football Playoff in 2025.
The Vols are unranked in several early preseason Top 25 polls, and they were predicted by the media to finish No. 9 in the SEC.
True freshman quarterback George MacIntyre, who is battling UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar and redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger for the starting job during fall camp, told reporters on Tuesday that Tennessee’s players “love” that the media is counting the Vols out.
“The media is counting us out,” said MacIntyre. “We love that. We want to go out there and prove ourselves this year.”
“The coaches don’t talk about it, and we’re just focused on getting better,” continued MacIntyre. “But we’d be lying [if we said] we didn’t see it. So it puts a chip on our shoulder.”
MacIntyre is far from the first Tennessee player to talk this summer about the low expectations from the media.
Vols senior tight end Miles Kitselman made a similar comment to ESPN’s Chris Low at SEC Media Days earlier this month.
“I just love it how we truly do have this chip on our shoulder and that there’s not a whole lot of spotlight on us right now,” said Kitselman. “There’s a lot of people that don’t expect anything out of us, and I absolutely love that you guys [the media] are going to look up at midseason and go, ‘Tennessee is 7-0. They’re doing it.”
Tennessee will get its first chance to prove the media wrong on August 30 when they kick off the season against Syracuse in Atlanta.
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