While there are still 222 days between now and the Vols’ season opener against Syracuse, who’s turning down a little college football talk on a Monday?
On3 Sports’ Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman put their heads together over the weekend to come up with a way-too-early college football Top 25 projection, which was released on Monday morning.
Tennessee, a playoff team from the inaugural 12-team format in 2024, lands in the Top 15 of On3’s rankings. The Vols are also slotted in front of two SEC powerhouse programs.
Tennessee is projected at the No. 13 spot in On3’s early rankings, one spot behind No. 12 Michigan and in front of No. 14 Alabama and No. 15 LSU.
Josh Heupel’s group began the 2024 season at the No. 15 slot and moved into the Top 13 by the second week of the season. Tennessee then spent 10 of the next 12 weeks with a single-digit ranking, only dropping to No. 11 during the Week 8 poll and No. 10 in the Week 13 poll.
“The Volunteers lose a lot of talent from their defensive line, but they were absurdly deep,” Staples wrote about the Volunteers’ No. 13 projection. “Joshua Josephs (nine tackles for loss in 2024) takes over for James Pearce Jr. at the LEO edge rusher position. Tackle Jaxson Moi was supposed to redshirt 2024, but the Vols couldn’t keep him off the field. As the Ohio State loss highlighted, QB Nico Iamaleava needs some dynamic targets to emerge. Can sophomore Mike Matthews be that guy?”
NEW: 2025 Way-Too-Early College Football Top 25 via @Andy_Staples & @AriWasserman
Do you agree? https://t.co/7RazdrYgQ7 pic.twitter.com/zgPp0pFpQn
— On3 (@On3sports) January 20, 2025
More from RTI: Highlights From Tennessee Transfer Addition Star Thomas
Interestingly, though, Tennessee is jumped by a trio of SEC teams that did not make the playoffs last year. Texas and Georgia are expected to be above Tennessee, which they are, but some might be surprised to see South Carolina, Florida, and Auburn all ranked above Tennessee in the hypothetical early projections.
The conference teams above Tennessee include No. 1 Texas, No. 6 Georgia, No. 8 South Carolina, No. 9 Florida, and No. 11 Auburn. The SEC teams below Tennessee in the Top 25, however, are No. 14 Alabama, No. 15 LSU, No. 18 Oklahoma, and No. 19 Texas A&M.
The top five of Staples and Wasserman’s rankings include, in order, Texas, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, and Notre Dame.
It’s important to note that, like anything in the sports world, storylines and situations will inevitably change and evolve over time. While this is On3’s best guess at what the Top 25 may look like here in late January, spring training camps and summer workouts are sure to impact how the initial preseason AP Top 25 looks when it drops next fall.
Tennessee returns a handful of solid pieces for Josh Heupel’s fifth season in Knoxville and have also added a trio of contributors through the transfer portal. The Vols also saw departures through graduation and the transfer portal, though, from both starters and backups alike.
You can’t do anything in the SEC if you don’t have a quarterback and fortunately for Tennessee, the Vols are set to return theirs from the previous season. Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava posted the conference’s ninth-best QBR last season while leading the Volunteers to a 10-2 regular season record and a trip to the college football playoffs. Who Iamaleava will be throwing to, though, has been a hot topic in the offseason.
Tennessee saw a good bit of WR depth exit through the portal last season and will turn to rising second-year players Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews to step up in 2025. The Vols will return Chris Brazzell on the outside and have added former Alabama receiver Amari Jefferson through the transfer portal, too.
The Vols also landed Duke running back Star Thomas out of the portal on Sunday, a dynamic back who can play the run game and pass game from the backfield.
The big offseason news on the defensive side of the ball is the report that Tennessee’s All-SEC cornerback Jermod McCoy suffered an ACL injury during an off-campus, off-season workout. Even with advancements in modern medicine, it’s still way too early to say what McCoy’s status for the early portion of the season will be.
There’s a lot to talk about between now and the start of the 2025 Tennessee football season, but this is just the start. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider all year for news, notes, and coverage of the Tennessee program en route to the 2025 season.
The Vols will open the season on Aug. 30 against Syracuse in Atlanta, GA.