No. 10 Tennessee will kick off its 2023 season on Sept. 2.
The Vols will open play versus Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee (noon EDT, ABC).
Tennessee’s home schedule has contests against Austin Peay, UTSA, South Carolina, Texas A&M, UConn, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
The Vols’ road schedule features games at Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Missouri.
Tennessee’s open date will take place on Oct. 7, after playing South Carolina and before the Texas A&M game.
2023 Tennessee Vols football schedule: Downloadable smartphone wallpaper
The 2023 season will be the Vols’ third under head coach Josh Heupel.
Heupel guided Tennessee to a 18-8 (10-6 SEC) record and two bowl appearances from 2021-22.
Vols Wire projected a 7-5 regular-season record in 2021 and a 10-2 regular-season record in 2022 for Tennessee under Heupel.
Tennessee’s 2023 roster
Tennessee enters the 2023 campaign with the most returning lettermen in the Southeastern Conference and the second most among teams ranked in the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.
Returning lettermen for 2023 preseason top 25 teams:
- Michigan 86
- Tennessee 62
- TCU 60
- Ole Miss 57
- Georgia 54
- Texas A&M 54
- USC 53
- Washington 51
- Wisconsin 51
- Clemson 49
- Oregon State 49
- Florida State 48
- Utah 47
- Texas Tech 46
- Kansas State 44
- North Carolina 44
- Penn State 44
- Oklahoma 42
- Ohio State 41
- Texas 41
- LSU 40
- Oregon 39
- Tulane 39
- Notre Dame 37
- Alabama 36
2023 SEC football returning lettermen:
- Tennessee 62
- Ole Miss 57
- Vanderbilt 56
- Georgia 54
- Texas A&M 54
- Florida 41
- LSU 40
- Auburn 38
- Mississippi State 38
- Missouri 37
- South Carolina 37
- Alabama 36
- Kentucky 36
- Arkansas 35
*Data provided by “Phil Steele’s College Football Preview”
Tennessee also added eight student-athletes from the NCAA transfer portal to its roster during the offseason.
The Vols’ most notable student-athlete to transfer from Tennessee during the offseason was four-star redshirt freshman quarterback Tayven Jackson.
Jackson transferred to Indiana and will play for co-offensive coordinators Walt Bell and Anthony Tucker. Bell and Tucker have ties to Tennessee’s program.
Bell served as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas State from 2014-15. At Arkansas State, Bell was co-offensive coordinator with current Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee. Elarbee also served as a graduate assistant (2003-04) and tight ends coach (2005) at Middle Tennessee State when Bell played wide receiver for the Blue Raiders.
Tucker served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Utah State from 2021-22 after coaching under Heupel at UCF. Tucker was Heupel’s co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach in 2020, passing game coordinator and running backs coach in 2019, and running backs coach during the 2018 campaign at UCF.
Tucker served as running backs coach at Maryland from 2016-17 under then-offensive coordinator Bell. He was also running backs and wide receivers coach at Arkansas State from 2013-15 under Bell and Elarbee.
Vols Wire highlighted how Utah State provided a blueprint for Tennessee against Alabama last season. Utah State played at Alabama in Week 1 last season and Vols Wire presented a breakdown in how the Crimson Tide’s defensive personnel could perform versus Tennessee and a similar scheme.
The Vols will have a similar situation in 2023. Alabama will play at USF on Sept. 16 ahead of hosting Tennessee in October. Former Vols’ offensive coordinator Alex Golesh enters his first season as head coach at USF.
Tennessee also added Micah James as an offensive analyst for the 2023 season. James served as offensive line coach under Tucker at Utah State (2021-22), co-offensive line coach at UMass when Bell was head coach (2019-20), offensive graduate assistant (2018) at UCF under Heupel, offensive graduate assistant under Bell at Maryland (2017) and offensive graduate assistant at Arkansas State with Bell and Elarbee (2014-15).
Second-year transfer quarterback Jackson joins a Tennessee-Indiana pipeline of student-athletes to help both schools assemble their rosters. Kicker Charles Campbell transferred to the Vols from Indiana during the offseason to help fill a void on roster after Chase McGrath’s eligibility ended after 2022. 2022 tight end prospect Brody Foley also flipped his commitment from Tennessee to Indiana.
Vols’ quarterback room in 2023
Jackson would have been in his second season within Tennessee’s program under Heupel after being a highly-touted recruit.
Heupel’s decision for the Vols’ 2023 quarterback room consisting of redshirt senior Joe Milton III, highly-touted freshman Nico Iamaleava and UCF redshirt junior transfer Gaston Moore highlights his confidence in the three student-athletes.
Tennessee’s 2023 regular-season record projection
Below is a record projection for Tennessee in 2023.