Ethan Bauer’s job does not start at the first whistle.
Back at the hotel, he’s up before the sun rises, prepping the meal room. He scans the area, passes out smoothies, checks hydration statuses, and watches every player to ensure they’re fueled and ready.
If there’s a meal to be served or a snack to be grabbed, you’ll find Tennessee football’s nutritionist there — usually surrounded by stacks of Uncrustables. Every play on the field is fueled by a nurtured body, something Bauer and his team have spent time perfecting from the moment players step on campus.
“You talk about the motor of the athlete,” Bauer said. “We’re kind of the gas that keeps the motor running.”
The leadership buy-in sets the tone for the athletes. Nutrition is not an afterthought — it’s a daily discipline required to withstand an SEC schedule. For the 2025-26 fiscal year, Tennessee athletics budgeted $542,732 across the LaPorte Strength & Conditioning Facility and Carmichael Strength Facility.
The LaPorte Facility, used generally for football, accounts for $242,266 of that budget — including $201,246 in nutritional supplements and about $3,000 in general supplies. By comparison, the Carmichael Facility, which supports all other sports, has a budget of $300,466. That means football alone accounts for nearly a quarter million dollars in nutritional spending and close to 80% of the nutritional budget that the rest of Tennessee athletics commands.
Behind every smoothie, he says, is a philosophy that goes far beyond calories and meal plans. It’s about connecting with the athletes on a personal level first, then working immediately to ensure everybody’s goal is met in developing the man — from pre-practice intake to post-game recovery.
But Bauer knows that change begins at the top. Having that backing gives the program the resources to operate at a high level and helps ensure player engagement.
Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel was hired in 2021 and brought Bauer aboard, making nutrition a priority. Support from athletic director Danny White allows the program to invest in its players with quality food, specialized staff and resources that give them a competitive edge.
“(Heupel) comes to me and asks my ideas,” Bauer said. “If I think it’s a good idea or bad idea, he takes my input for the professional that I am in this space, too. So he respects what we do, respects our input in a lot of different ways, which is rewarding in and of itself.”
Bauer’s job is about optimizing athletic performance. That process begins the day athletes arrive in Knoxville.
“They have to be invested,” Bauer said. “They have to understand why they’re doing the things that they’re doing in season, so that you can get them to do it.”
Investment is not always immediate. Before he can implement an eating schedule full of nutritional benefits, he has to earn the trust of the athlete.
He begins by developing a full picture of the player: socioeconomic status, cultural background, previous injuries, allergies and tolerances. Then, he delivers the pitch.
“It’s building that foundation of trust,” Bauer said. “This is who I am, this is how I can help you.”
Many players come from backgrounds where no plans for their health existed. That’s the bulk of Bauer’s job — and it’s a continuous commitment.
“Trust is gained and dropped, lost in buckets, right?” Bauer said. “So that’s what I mean by you build it to be able to be real with them so that you can help them. Because if you can’t be real with them, they’ll get their feelings hurt when you’re trying to talk to them about different things, and the changes that they want to make, it’ll never work.”
Once that is established, Bauer and his staff can start tailoring plans to fit the athlete — whether that is adding lean mass, refining strengths or supporting recovery.
Nutrition is the fuel. The staff is the guide. Bauer and his colleagues combine that to educate the players on what they are ingesting, while putting on healthy weight.
And the key word is healthy. The nutritionists do not hand players the meal plans; they provide a map.
“We could feed them the greasiest, most calorie-dense foods and get a lot of guys that put on weight if we wanted to, but it’s about putting on the right weight, right?” Bauer said. “You load them up full of, say, 40 pounds, and it’s bad weight and they’re going to be more prone to injury if they gain it too quickly.”
Touted freshman lineman David Sanders Jr. reaps the nutrition program benefits. A consensus five-star prospect from Charlotte, Sanders’ football traits flashed on film.
But he stood at a lean 270 pounds with a 6-foot-6 frame — light for the SEC standard. So after arriving on campus in December 2024, Sanders’ journey began. He immediately bought in, and the results have him weighing in around 320 pounds eight months later.
“He’s awesome,” Bauer said. “Man, that guy does everything he needs to do to get to where he has. That’s why I just give him all the credit because, yeah, we’re here to help him along that way, but shoot — he’s putting in a lot.”
Sanders is a headline example, but only because his transformation is the most recent. Player testimonials range all over the field. That includes fellow offensive lineman Sam Pendleton, who played the first two seasons of his career at Notre Dame.
After spending the spring and fall with Bauer and his staff, Pendleton feels the difference at Tennessee that he did not have in the past.
“It’s been tremendous,” Pendleton said. “Ethan does a fantastic job. Haley (Bishop) does a fantastic job, just making sure we’re eating, especially during fall camp, you know? I mean, I’ve been gaining weight through fall camp, which is something I haven’t done in the past, and just making sure that you’re always eating something, always drinking something. Staying healthy, they give us vitamins every day, so stuff like that has just been like a tremendous help for sure.”
Pendleton’s viewpoint circles back to Bauer’s core goal: nutrition is about more than food. The program is a resource, but the structure, reminders and accountability are what make it effective.
The philosophy extends across the roster, shaping habits for every position. Bauer’s approach can vary by position, but the end goal does not. Defensive back Jalen McMurray was in Pendleton’s shoes a year ago when he elected to transfer from Temple.
With a year in Tennessee’s program under his belt, McMurray has positioned himself to play a large role. He credits part of that to the off-field habits he developed, building an SEC-ready frame in the nutrition department.
“I definitely have put some weight on, still feel fast and all that,” McMurray said. “But here, I feel like they’ve definitely helped me do that and put the weight on in a productive and good way, and not necessarily just putting all the weight on.”
Bauer recognizes all the backgrounds that his players come from. That includes Australian punter Jackson Ross, who made his way to Tennessee after spending three seasons with Hawthorn Football Club, a professional Australian rules football team in Victoria.
The biggest adjustment was trading his Aussie coffee for Knoxville roast — but also the size of his teammates when he made the move from Melbourne to the States.
“It was a big shock,” Ross said. “Obviously, so many different sizes of guys here and different meals I have to eat. So I try to eat clean-ish.”
Even with the seriousness of fueling SEC athletes, Bauer’s program allows for small indulgences. A recent food order included a 10-pound package of rainbow sprinkles — a reminder that nutrition doesn’t have to be all rules and structure.
A breakdown of the most recent order placed by the athletics nutrition department on August 8, 2025.
Bauer’s program, he says, aims to allow players to leave in a better situation than when they arrived. That decision-making ability is already paying off for sophomore running back Peyton Lewis, who was a two-sport star at Salem High School in Virginia. He boasted a powerful frame at 6-foot-1, 197 pounds with a 6.34-second 55-meter track time that earned him two state championship titles.
Lewis arrived with the tools and athleticism, but said the adjustment has been a daily discipline. That is where he has grown the most, adding 15 pounds to pair with his stature.
“They make sure that we’re always doing the right thing and trying to make the right decision,” Lewis said. “They can’t tell us what to eat, but they try to guide us in the right position. I feel like that’s helped me a lot since I’ve been here, picking out the right things I need to eat, just keeping in the back of my head, like, maybe this might affect me this way. And I stay away from a lot of different stuff. I feel like that’s helped me build up my body to where I am now.”
Tennessee’s formula to prevent the motor from sputtering is straightforward with consistency and discipline. The results speak for themselves.
Since Bauer took over as director of sports nutrition in April 2021, the Vols have seen 12 NFL Draft picks. That includes two first-rounders and five day-two picks, featuring the likes of 26th overall pick James Pearce Jr. in 2024. Offensive tackle Darnell Wright was selected 10th overall in 2023, becoming the program’s highest draft selection since Eric Berry went fifth overall in 2010.
Tennessee football takes nutrition seriously. For all the highlight plays any given Saturday, it’s a week-long process behind the scenes that prepares student-athletes for game day.
“Every time these NFL guys come back, it’s cool to be able to see their story because that’s why we get into this business,” Bauer said. “My goal is to help others achieve theirs, really. So just seeing that coming to fruition is pretty cool.”
