Expectations aren’t high for the Tennessee Vols in 2026 after finishing last season with back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and Illinois to end the year with an 8-5 record.

Tennessee isn’t being predicted by the national media to reach the College Football Playoff. The Vols, in fact, aren’t even viewed as a playoff bubble team by the national media.

But preseason expectations don’t really mean anything. A year ago, for example, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables was on the hot seat after winning just six games the previous season.

Venables and the Sooners responded to the noise by reaching the College Football Playoff.

You just never know how rosters will gel, which quarterbacks will live up to expectations, and which teams will stay healthy (and that’s very important given the lack of depth across college football).

I’m sure there will be a couple of teams that reach the playoff this season that no one saw coming. And while Tennessee has an uncertain quarterback situation, the Vols undoubtedly have enough talent on the roster to reach the playoff for the second time in three years.

Quotes from Phillip Fulmer and Al Wilson should warm Vols fans to the idea that Tennessee can win a natty

Former Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer and legendary Vols linebacker Al Wilson joined WNML’s Josh and Swain on Friday and they both dropped some quotes about UT’s 1998 national championship team that are relevant to the 2026 team.

Going into the offseason, the narrative surrounding the Vols was that they needed to get physically stronger.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel hired strength coach Derek Owings away from the Indiana Hoosiers to help the Volunteers improve in that area.

“Tennessee’s got to be mentally and physically tougher, mentally and physically stronger,” said VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs in January. “That’s just the reality. They’ve got to finish better. They’ve got to finish games better. They’ve got to finish seasons better. They’ve got to finish halves better and drives better — on both sides of the ball. To do that, they need to be physically better, and they need to be mentally tougher.”

During their appearance on WNML, Wilson and Fulmer both mentioned how Tennessee knew they had to get stronger after the 1997 season following the Vols’ blowout loss to Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

“In 97 when we played Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, they whooped us pretty good,” said Wilson. “They were way more physical than we were. And we were in great shape, don’t get me wrong, but they were just a way more physical football team. And going into that next offseason, before the 98 season, we knew we had to get stronger. We had to become more physical, and we had to be more dedicated to what we were doing. So it started in the offseason for us.”

“To Al’s point, we had a come to Jesus kind of meeting,” added Fulmer. “We just lost 12 guys to the NFL, and three in the first round. And a lot of people were thinking, ‘Well, they’re gonna be third in the (SEC) East.’ And there wasn’t a single year that we didn’t start the season figuring out how we’re gonna win the championship.

“Now, obviously we didn’t do it every year. But we also played, I think, in five or six championship games, or we were in the championship picture. And I came to Al, and I said, ‘Al, we’re missing a lot of leadership.’ A lot of leadership had graduated. And to the point that he just made about the offseason, (then Vols strength coach) John Stucky went to work. They (players) went to work. We built a culture of toughness during spring practice.”

Those comments sound a lot like that comments that were made about Tennessee this past winter.

Another similarity between the 1998 team and the 2026 team is the quarterback situation.

Tennessee will start either redshirt freshman George MacIntyre or true freshman Faizon Brandon this fall. MacIntyre has the only in-game experience of the two quarterbacks with nine career pass attempts.

Tee Martin, meanwhile, entered the 1998 season as the Vols’ starting quarterback with only 16 career pass attempts.

I’m not predicting anything for Tennessee in 2026. I have no clue how this team will perform. But the urgency that the team is feeling and the quarterback situation is very similar to the 1998 team.

So all I’m saying is don’t act surprised if this Tennessee team ends up being really good this season. There’s no reason anyone should be putting a ceiling on what the Vols can accomplish in 2026.