Modern college football requires a multitude of adjustments.
Between transfers, draft decisions and hiring season, the Vols (8-4) will have to adjust when it takes the field on Dec. 30 for the Music City Bowl.
One consistent will be at the quarterback position, where Tennessee football quarterback Joey Aguilar confirmed on Dec. 16 that he would play against Illinois (8-4). Pending a lawsuit decision for extra eligibility, it may or may not be Aguilar’s last game.
Wide receiver Chris Brazzell II and linebacker Arion Carter have entered the NFL Draft, opting out of the bowl game. Minimal contributors Boo Carter and Jamal Wallace, alongside deep reserves Kellen Lindstrom, Marcus Goree and Brenden Anes have entered the transfer portal, also ruling them out from playing.
Elsewhere, it is an open audition for the 2026 season.
“Next time we’re on the field, we’re going to show the world what we got,” wide receiver Braylon Staley, who earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors recently, said.
Staley has already proved his worth this season. The breakout slot receiver will step in as the Vols’ leading receiver without Brazzell, needing 194 yards to surpass 1,000 for the year. Fellow second-year receiver Mike Matthews — a 770-yard receiver himself — will line up opposite, while remaining reps can be given out to the youth of the group.
Travis Smith Jr. and Radarious Jackson should get bulk reps. The pair has played just 159 snaps this season, with Smith participating in 85 plays and Jackson taking part in 74.
Aguilar, though, is confident in what his guys bring to the table.
“This is a time for their opportunity, and they’re gonna go out there and I think they would not take it for granted,” Aguilar said. “You know, they’re both showing that at practice, and they have been throughout the season, so I’m excited to go play with those guys.”
But the pairing is just a highlight of guys who did not receive many opportunities throughout the regular season. On the rest of the field, Tennessee’s freshmen shone.
The league office announced on Dec. 11 that Staley, Ty Redmond, Edwin Spillman and David Sanders earned SEC All-Freshman team honors. It re-upped the sentiment that young guys don’t have time to be young.
“It was just, you know, instilled into our head so much,” Staley said. “Like we had to come out to practice like we’re an older guy to be honest. And I think, you know, the accolades we getting now, it’s a blessing for us but we got to move it on to the past and get to working and get some more.”
That leaves the bowl game as a chance to display what next season could be for the younger options.
“We have a very young (offensive) line, so this going to kind of be like a fast forward to next year, but we still have so much more work to be do,” Sanders said. “I don’t think this last game will look like that even next year, you know, so we’re going to be a lot better and a lot stronger, a lot faster next year. But definitely got another opportunity to just go, you know, ball out with all the guys.”
Even more than just the youth, it is a team-wide audition on the defensive side of the ball. Tennessee parted ways with former defensive coordinator Tim Banks on Dec. 8, and moved quickly with a splash move to land Jim Knowles.
While the bowl game will see linebackers coach William Inge assume play-calling duties, Knowles has been lurking around practice since signing his contract on Dec. 11. He’s getting a first-hand look at what guys he will have to work with next year — which makes these bowl practices and the bowl game of importance for the current roster.
“I told everybody, it’s a clean slate, man,” linebacker Jeremiah Telander said. “It’s like we’re all freaking freshmen again. Even today, he’s in the back just watching everybody, man. It’s a clean slate. But at the end of the day, if you do what you’re supposed to do every day, you just got to be yourself. You just got to be yourself plus one.”
Tennessee heads West on I-40 next week, ahead of the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30. The Vols take on Illinois for the first time on the gridiron for a 5:30 p.m. ET kick.
