Tag: tennessee vols football

David Sanders, 5-star OT, commits to Tennessee Volunteers

Josh Heupel and the Vols landed their biggest win so far of the 2025 recruiting cycle in the nation’s No. 2 overall player.

The last few weeks Josh Heupel and his coaching staff have been on a tear on the recruiting trail.

On Saturday the Volunteers landed their biggest win of the 2025 cycle.

Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day School five-star offensive David Sanders has announced his commitment to the Volunteers. He chose Tennessee over Georgia, Nebraska and Ohio State.

The 6-foot-6, 290-pounder is ranked as the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect, the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 1 player out of North Carolina according to the 247Sports Composite Ranking.

Sanders has taken his time when it comes to making his decision taking official visits to South Carolina (4/19), Nebraska (5/10), Clemson (5/31), Georgia (6/7), Tennessee (6/14) and Ohio State (6/21) over the last few months.

Sanders’ decision seemingly came down to Nebraska and Tennessee. He took trips to both schools late in July with the trip to Knoxville ultimately winning out for him.

Volunteers keep landing wins out of North Carolina

Josh Heupel’s made it an emphasis on landing the top players out of Tennessee. However, North Carolina’s could quickly become a recruiting hotbed for the Vols.

Sanders is the second elite recruit to commit to Tennessee over the last few weeks out of the Tar Heel State.

Faizon Brandon, a five-star quarterback out of Greensboro, became Tennessee’s first 2026 pledge on August 3. Brandon is ranked as the top overall prospect in the 2026 class.

 

Texas could face 8-game SEC schedule with one permanent rival

The SEC considers only having one annual conference rival for each team.

Another new possibility emerged in regard to Texas’ future SEC schedule. Continue reading “Texas could face 8-game SEC schedule with one permanent rival”

PREVIEW: Tennessee vs Georgia, Texas vs Kansas State and more

A look at games you won’t want to miss this weekend.

Week 10 has a loaded schedule of college football. The weekend continues a highly competitive and memorable 2022 season.

The slate begins with a great Pac-12 matchup between No. 24 Oregon State and Washington. Both teams have made a resurgence and are already bowl eligible with four games remaining.

The headliner of the week pits No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Tennessee against each other. Georgia will look to continue its national title defense at home against college football’s surprise team of the season. Despite having the marquee win of the year, Tennessee ranks just below the Bulldogs.

Elsewhere, No. 6 Alabama faces No. 15 LSU on the road, while multiple Big 12 battles take place. No. 7 TCU hosts a hungry Texas Tech team, while No. 18 Oklahoma State aims to stay alive in the conference title hunt against Kansas.

Here are some of the best games of the day.

Kirk Herbstreit explains why he thinks Tennessee is better than Georgia

Why does Kirk Herbstreit rank the Tennessee Volunteers over the Georgia Bulldogs?

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit ranks Tennessee, his No. 2 team, higher than the Georgia Bulldogs, his No. 3 team. Fortunately, Georgia and Tennessee will be able to settle the debate on the field on Nov. 5 in Athens, Georgia.

Kirk Herbstreit’s reason for ranking Tennessee over Georgia is simple. He is very high on Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker.

Hooker, who is currently the front-runner to win the Heisman, has 21 total touchdowns this season. Hooker has thrown one interception. He’s looked pretty comfortable all season.

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett is another Heisman contender, but he would not be invited to New York if the season ended today. Earlier this season, Bennett and the Georgia offense had some red zone struggles.

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Before Georgia and Tennessee face off on Nov. 5, the Bulldogs play the Florida Gators in Jacksonville, Florida. Additionally, Tennessee hosts Kentucky in an SEC East clash.

We think the difference between Georgia and Tennessee is on the defensive side of the football. The Bulldogs have the country’s No. 2 scoring defense (9.14 points per game), while Tennessee has the No. 50 defense in the country (23.14 points per game).

Tennessee will have to play much better against Georgia than it did in 2021 if it wants to knock off the Bulldogs. The Volunteers, who carved up Alabama’s defense, will look to get some red zone stops against Georgia and hope  Hendon Hooker can take over the game.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz2y40j067srkf player_id=none image=https://ugawire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=80049]

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Outside Texas: Looking at the best games of Week 9

The Longhorns’ two biggest rivals face tough tests this week.

The least exciting Saturday of the college football season will take place this weekend for Texas fans. The Longhorns will be idle on Saturday while other teams play. Despite it all, there should be great football played this weekend.

The day starts off with a bang as multiple great matchups take place at 11 a.m. CT. No. 2 Ohio State faces perhaps their first test of the season as they travel to face No. 13 Penn State on the road. While they play, Notre Dame will take on No. 16 Syracuse who narrowly dropped their first game of the season at Clemson last week.

In the Big 12, two noteworthy matchups occur in the early session. No. 7 TCU travels to Morgantown to face West Virginia. The Mountaineers earned an upset win over Baylor in their last home game.

The Longhorns’ two biggest rivals face tough tests this week. Oklahoma will face the stingy Iowa State Cyclone defense in Ames, while Texas A&M will host the No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels.

Here are a few of the biggest games this Saturday.

Week 7 Picks: Texas vs Iowa State, third Saturday in October and more

The Tennessee Volunteers will look to break a 15-game losing streak against Alabama.

As the season progresses, the set of games for each week become even more consequential. That fact is certainly true this week, as two sets of top ten teams clash for bragging rights.

No. 4 Michigan and No. 10 Penn State face off in a pivotal Big Ten matchup. The game could decide who challenges Ohio State for a spot in the Big Ten title game.

Michigan is the reigning Big Ten champion and representative in the College Football Playoff. Even so, Penn State has the ability to wreak havoc on the road this week.

In the SEC, No. 1 Alabama and No. 8 Tennessee meet in what is perhaps the most storied rivalry in conference history. There haven’t been many stories to tell since Nick Saban took over in Tuscaloosa. The Volunteers have lost 15 straight in the series, but Bryce Young’s injury makes the Crimson Tide vulnerable to upset.

Let’s look at who could emerge from these games with a win.

Week 7 Preview: An early look at Texas vs Iowa State and more

Oklahoma looks to avoid an 0-4 start in conference at home against Kansas.

Week 7 features multiple high-profile games. Texas will play its part in the weekend with a tough home game against Iowa State. Continue reading “Week 7 Preview: An early look at Texas vs Iowa State and more”

Week 6 Picks: Predicting Texas vs. Oklahoma and more

Jimbo Fisher might have to coach a close game against Alabama, as rumors swirl about his job security.

Week 6 is a big one for the Big 12. The league features multiple matchups that involve ranked teams. Surprisingly, Texas and Oklahoma are not one of those matchups.

While some claim the game has lost its luster, the Red River Shootout is still the biggest game in the conference. Oklahoma must win to stay in the Big 12 title hunt, while Texas has a chance to get the upper hand in the rivalry moving forward.

In a surprising twist, the matchup between TCU and Kansas is perhaps the biggest matchup outside of the Red River game. Both teams are undefeated and in good position to make a run at the conference title game.

Outside of the league, the Longhorns’ in-state rival, Texas A&M faces the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. What was billed as perhaps the biggest regular season game during this offseason by some could be unwatchable.

Famously, Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies arguably pulled off the upset of the season last year over Alabama. Now Fisher might have to coach this into a close game, as rumors swirl about his job security.

Let’s pick this week’s biggest games.

Texas is included in On3 Sports’ featured games for Week 4

A number of Big 12 matchups are included in On3 Sports’ 10 featured games.

The college football season picks up momentum this weekend. Conference play and big time matchups raise the level of competition on Saturday.

Texas is mentioned in one of the better games of the weekend according to On3 Sports. The Longhorns face their West Texas rival, Texas Tech at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

The game between the Longhorns and Red Raiders figures to be one of the better atmospheres in college football on Saturday. Texas’ anticipated move to the SEC heightens intrigue for what could be the last meeting between the two teams in Lubbock for awhile.

A number of Big 12 matchups are included in On3 Sports’ 10 featured games, while Tennessee and Florida highlight the day’s best games. Here is a look at the entire list.

Texas commit Arch Manning draws another elite comparison

The hype surrounding Arch Manning continues.

The hype surrounding Arch Manning continues. One publication is comparing him to a former Indianapolis Colts quarterback, but not the one you might expect.

On3 Sports is finding similarities between Manning and former Houston area standout Andrew Luck.

Both quarterbacks share a few things in common. They each possess a strong arm, high football IQ and underrated athleticism.

Manning hopes to accomplish some of the goals Andrew Luck reached at the college and professional level. Luck elevated Stanford from mediocrity to the Orange Bowl and Fiesta Bowl in his time at Stanford.

Afterward, Luck was selected as the No. 1 overall pick to the Indianapolis Colts in the 2012 NFL Draft. While there, Luck led the Colts as far as the AFC Championship before retiring.

Winning over Arch Manning heals the wounds of past quarterback misses for Texas. Fans watched as quarterbacks their team undervalued excelled elsewhere. Andrew Luck, Jameis Winston, Johnny Manziel and Robert Griffin III were a few of Mack Brown’s biggest quarterback misses.

If Manning can duplicate Luck’s success, Texas could have a strong start as a new member of the SEC.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz52bnpekkafqb player_id=none image=https://longhornswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[pickup_prop id=”25687″]