They’re high on the Volunteers.
You can almost feel it — fall it almost here. And of course, that means it’s time for meaningless preseason top 25 polls! As meaningless as they are, they certainly drum up conversation, so naturally we’re going to talk about them.
Over at 247Sports, they’ve come out with their preseason poll, placing the Volunteers at No. 10 overall. That’s about as high as we’ve seen Tennessee in any poll so far, as they checked in ahead of Missouri, LSU, Florida State and Oklahoma.
Here’s what the publication had to say.
One could surmise Tennessee as a under-the-radar team, but not any longer according to our preseason rankings. When you’re inside the top 10, you’re essentially being picked as a playoff team. Josh Heupel said repeatedly in recent weeks that first-year starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava has no limitations and he expects his former five-star signee to carry this offense to its usual production levels with explosive plays. If the offensive line performs and Tennessee’s pass-rush is as good as advertised with James Pearce Jr. returning, Tennessee could be in for a special season.
Tennessee has been largely an afterthought in the SEC, thanks to the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, the transfer portal additions of Ole Miss and the retirement of Nick Saban. Tennessee has been hovering somewhere as the projected 5th to 7th team in the SEC, and that holds true here with the Volunteers checking in as the fifth-ranked team in the poll.
Josh Heupel has his deepest, biggest roster yet since arriving in Knoxville. The strength of this team might just be the defensive front, which features potential No. 1 overall pick James Pearce coming off of the edge and a ton veterans on the interior. Tennessee will be strong up front on the other side of the ball too, returning three starters and adding former five-star tackle Lance Heard at left tackle. Depth and explosiveness at receiver should also help the transition to Nico Iamaleava, who has already shown us flashes of brilliance.
All of that along with a relatively weak schedule (at least in SEC terms) and you see why this staff has a confidence about them heading into the fall.
247Sports placed Ohio State — not Georgia — at the top of the poll. The Bulldogs checked in at No. 2, with Texas, Oregon and Ole Miss following.
247Sports College Football Preseason Poll
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Texas
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Alabama
- Penn State
- Notre Dame
- Michigan
- Tennessee
- Missouri
- LSU
- Florida State
- Clemson
- Utah
- Miami
- Oklahoma
- Kansas State
- USC
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma State
- NC State
- Iowa
- Virginia Tech
- Arizona