Voltellos Shut Out Belmont:

No. 1 Tennessee closed out their non-conference regular season with a 10-0 7-inning, run-rule victory over Belmont on a rainy and sunny Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.


The Volunteers wasted no time improving to 43-10 on the season with their 15th run-rule win.


Tennessee scored five runs in the bottom of the 1st thanks to two Belmont errors and three hits, including doubles by Billy Amick and Hunter Ensley.


The Vols added two runs in the 3rd inning after loading the bases with no outs.


A Cannon Peebles sac fly scored Dylan Dreiling, who led off the frame with a double. Colby Backus’s grounder through the right side scored Ensley from 2nd to make it 7-0.


The Vols would go down in order in the 4th and 5th innings before Colby Backus sent the first pitch of the bottom of the 6th over the wall in right-centerfield for his 5th home run of the season.


Christian Moore then made it back-to-back jacks with his school-record 51st career long ball. It was also his 24th home run of the year, tying the single-season school record set by Sonny Cortez in 1998 gorilla ball season.


Reese Chapman joined the solo home run party with two outs in the frame, giving the Vols a 10-0 lead. It was Chapman’s 5th home run of the season.


Tennessee used six pitchers in the shutout. JJ Garcia earned the win to improve to 3-0 on the season.


The Vols close out the regular season with a Thursday-Saturday series vs South Carolina this weekend in LNS.


@Mattdixon3'

Tony ...

Listening to your Monday show about all the intrigue and inner workings of the new twelve team college playoff, one thing kept going through my mind. Bowl games are going to completely become insignificant. If some kind of incentives aren't put into place, I don't see how they will even last. I'd like to hear your opinion and maybe some discussion of this on your shows. Maybe going to a sixteen team playoff and having a separate playoff for Group of 5 is the answer. And just go ahead and do away with the bowl games. Either way ... I just don't see a favorable future for college bowl games.


RD In Nashville'

I am at peace with the revised college football recruiting calendar. For me selfishly I guess, it is all about Tennessee athletics content and the ability to shorten the bridge from one football season to another. For the longest time Tennessee athletics have been sort of ho-hum and that bridge has seemed like the Bridge to Nowhere. First Rick Barnes came along and made the basketball team interesting again. Then he was outdone by Tony Vitello and the BaseVols who season in and out are competing for championships. Baseball season ends in mid-June or later if we are really lucky.


Getting Acclimated To The New Normal: On the new football recruiting calendar, June is the new January. It's arguably the most active month of the cycle. More and more prospects take official visits in June and then announce their college decisions in July or just before the start of their senior season. This is the new recruiting normal. With this new recruiting calendar that spans June until late July, I now have some kind of Tennessee athletics related content to pay attention to year-round. And this pleases me.


June Is Moving Month: Tennessee expects to get a lot of its recruiting work done in June this recruiting cycle.

The NCAA allows up to 56 official visitors each recruiting cycle. Official visit counting is inexact to be sure, but by my count, Tennessee will be hosting between 30 and 35 official visitors in June. Tennessee wants to avoid the situation it found itself in last recruiting cycle. After productive months of June and July, Tennessee sputtered and lost all of its recruiting momentum. Tennessee lost out on prospect after prospect going 110 days between football commitments. What was more impactful though is Tennessee seemed to be left without a viable back up plan at many positions.

This cycle seems different in that respect. Tennessee has cast a wider recruiting net in hopes of avoiding a repeat of last year’s 110-day commitment drought.

Tennessee is involved with more linemen and wide receivers and has already made the decision to host more prospects at these positions than last cycle.


Tennessee sits on 9 commitments as of today. 5 committed prospects are projected to play offense. 3 of the commitments are from within the state of Tennessee.


Tennessee is off to a pretty good start. Let’s take a position-by-position look.


Tennessee Offensive Recruiting By Position To This Point: Quarterback: Tennessee is done at quarterback this cycle. Brentwood, Tennessee’s George McIntyre committed in January. He was their #1 target for this cycle. Job well done.


Tight End: Tennessee is done at tight end this recruiting cycle. Jack Van Dorselaer, a 4-star tight end from Southlake Carroll, Texas, committed to Tennessee in January. By signing day, fans will forget how important getting a commitment from a consensus 4-star, 6’5” 235 lb. tight end is. He is perfect for the Tennessee offense. Van Dorselaer is a multi-sport athlete, he runs well, and he is a willing blocker (very important for a Tennessee tight end to have that mindset).


Tennessee is hosting tight end DaSaahn Brame, a highly sought after 4-star prospect from Derby, Kansas, on an official visit. While I do think Brame is intrigued by Tennessee’s use of the tight end in so many different ways, it is hard to imagine that Brame does not commit to Oregon by the end of June.


Running Back: De’Rail Sims replaced Jerry Mack as Tennessee’s running back coach prior to spring practice. Jerry Mack had a good eye for talent and was an excellent developer of talent. Naturally, during the transition from Mack to Sims, running back recruiting took a slight step backwards. The good news is that running back Justin Baker from Buford High School, Georgia, who committed to Jerry Mack in October, remains committed to Tennessee. Pay no attention to Baker’s current star rating. He is massively under-ranked. He will be a challenge for Tennessee to hold on to until signing day.


Tennessee will sign another running back in the 2025 class. The name that seems to stand out right now is Baylor School (Chattanooga) running back Shekai Mills-Knight.

Mills-Knight, who takes an official visit to Tennessee in June, is built similarly to Cam Seldon. Tennessee has seemed to prioritize Mills-Knight’s recruitment after seeing him in person during the evaluation period.


Tennessee is recruiting two Cleveland, Ohio, area running backs in Marquise Davis and Bo Jackson. Davis is a Kentucky commitment but has scheduled an official visit to Tennessee in June. Another running back on the board is Todd Robinson from Valdosta, Georgia. Tennessee trails Georgia for Robinson.


Wide Receiver: Tennessee is off to a nice start here. Josh Heupel and wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope have already secured commitments from two of its top wide receiver targets: Joakim Dodson (Collierville) and Radarious Jackson (Memphis). Both prospects could choose to play college football at most any school in the south or any part of the country for that matter. They choose to play for their home state school. Both are excellent prospects now and their best football is ahead of them.


I still think Tennessee signs at least two more wide receivers. Kelsey Pope has put together a recruiting board that is deep, talented, and coveted by schools in the major football conferences who run up tempo offenses. Cam Sparks from the Baylor School in Chattanooga is on that recruiting board. I once believed Sparks would be committed to Tennessee by Memorial Day. However, now I’m not even certain Sparks is part of Tennessee’s signing class. Just goes to show you how fickle recruiting can be.


Tennessee is locked in a battle with Georgia for two of the state of Georgia’s top wide receivers. Westlake’s Travis Smith and Savannah’s Thomas Blackshear. Tennessee probably leads for Smith and trails George for Blackshear. We’ll know about Blackshear soon. He is scheduled to announce his decision on Sunday, the 12th .


Additionally a pair of five-star wide receivers have scheduled official visits in June to Tennessee.

Caleb Cunningham from Mississippi and Jaime Ffrench from Florida. Cunningham is the more realistic target for Tennessee. Also, Bishop Gorman Las Vegas’ Derek Meadows and Mater Dei Santa Ana, California’s Marcus Harris have confirmed official visits. Both are elite wide receiver talents (top 100 -150 prospects nationally). Tennessee is a dark horse for both. With that said, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of the two as part of Tennessee’s class.


Tennessee is also continuing to evaluate wide receiver / athlete Kolbe Harmon from Brentwood Academy. Harmon is built along the lines of Squirrel White. He has elite level speed and could contribute on either side of the ball and special teams. Just one to keep an eye on.

Offensive Line: As of May, Tennessee doesn’t have a single offensive lineman committed. With the graduation losses after the 2024 season, Tennessee has a lot of work to do at this position. Tennessee internally feels really good about the work the recruiting and coaching staff have done this cycle. They should. You look at the offensive linemen that have scheduled official visits, or are planning to, and it’s a really nice group.

This sounds strikingly similar to the messaging from the last recruiting cycle. Top rated offensive line prospects take Tennessee’s calls, visit the campus, and eat tons of chicken fingers while visiting. When it comes to decision time Tennessee hasn’t been able to consistently close the deal on elite level prospects. Maybe more importantly is what happens when offensive linemen do sign with Tennessee. They can’t seem to develop them into SEC offensive linemen.


Look at the 2024 projected offensive line starters. Both tackles are transfers; one guard and the center were recruited to Tennessee by Jeremy Pruitt; and it’s anyone’s guess who plays the other guard position, but it will be either a transfer, a walk on, or another player signed by Jeremy Pruitt. And the #1 lineman off the bench is a former walk on.


Tennessee did bounce back from some recruiting misses and sign a nice group of offensive lineman last recruiting cycle, but the issue of player development remains.

Most Tennessee fans know that, and you can bet that Tennessee’s rivals know this as well. You can be assured the lack of player development is being used against Tennessee in recruiting. I’m all for Tennessee signing a great offensive line class, but it’s hard to overlook these concerns.


I could see Tennessee signing up to 5 offensive lineman. Tennessee needs interior lineman and tackles.


Here's The Board: Antoni Ogumoro, interior lineman. Elgin, Oklahoma. He just wrapped up an official visit to Tennessee. By all accounts he had a great visit. Can Tennessee close here?


Jaelyne Matthews. Offensive tackle, Toms River, New Jersey. Tennessee has been leading for Matthews since February. He is a true offensive tackle. He is visiting Tennessee in June. He would be a nice pick up. Again, let’s see if Tennessee can close.


David Sanders. Offensive tackle. Let’s give some credit where credit is due. Tennessee is shooting its shot for the #1 rated offensive tackle in the country. Tennessee is neck and neck with Ohio State and Clemson for Sanders. He is visiting all three schools in June and his decision will come thereafter. Ohio State is Tennessee’s biggest competition. I do think in the case of Sanders distance from his hometown, Charlotte, North Carolina, will play a factor in his decision.


Josh Petty. Offensive tackle. Petty plans to visit Tennessee. Right now, Florida State , Clemson, and Auburn are ahead of Tennessee.


Juan Gaston. Offensive tackle. Gaston’s interest in Tennessee once seemed high. However, I’m not sure Tennessee even receives an official visit. Something has changed here. Maybe Tennessee would be best served to use this visit more wisely.


Jakobe Ward, interior offensive lineman, Savannah, GA. Tennessee has done an excellent job recruiting Ward. Two questions. Where is Ward on the recruiting board and can Tennessee close?


Jatorian Blackmon interior offensive lineman, LaGrange, GA. (see Jakobe Ward)


Dontrell Glover, interior offensive lineman, Fairburn, GA. Tennessee is in this one, but currently trails Florida State and Georgia


Nic Moore, interior offensive lineman. Jefferson County, Tennessee. He is a two-way player in high school who projects as a center in college. He is advanced in terms of strength and conditioning for a high school player. In addition to a standout football player, he is one of the state’s best in the shot put.


There is another group of offensive linemen such as Andrew Babalola; Darius Afalava; Hardy Watts; Douglas Utu, and Bobby Kanka that have either scheduled or in the process of scheduling official visits to Tennessee. These kids are from different regions of the country. Right now, I don’t see Tennessee as being much of a factor in any of these recruitments. Tennessee seems to be a hat on the table right now. The transfer portal has covered up some of the faults with Tennessee’s problems with recruiting and development of high school offensive line prospects.


Next up next week … the defense.


Until then ...


From the inner sanctum

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'Tennessee picked up its 9th football commitment Monday afternoon when Memphis Sheffield wide receiver Radarious Jackson announced his commitment in front of family and friends.

Jackson is the second wide receiver in the 2025 class and the 4th prospect from the state of Tennessee. Whatever Tennessee’s formula is for prospect evaluation it’s working. Tennessee beat many of its staunchest on field competitors to the draw in identifying Jackson as a prospect and striking up a relationship. Tennessee had a bit of a head start on other colleges in Jackson’s recruitment. You see Jackson and Tennessee quarterback commitment George McIntyre are teammates on one of the best 7 on 7 teams in the south.

As a junior at Sheffield, he had a phenomenal season. As a junior he caught 30 passes for 696 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 782 yards and nine touchdowns. He just isn’t a wide receiver either. As a defensive back he was in 60 plus tackles and had 7 interceptions.


By the end of his junior season, Jackson had amassed some 25 offers. His finalists were Auburn, Oregon, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. Notice all 4 of Jackson’s finalists are up tempo fast paced offenses. Offenses that are reliant on speed to stretch defenses. Jackson’s athleticism is obvious. He is yet another commitment who plays multiple sports. Jackson is a member of Sheffield’s basketball team as well as a member of the school’s track team.


He was the best player on the field in every game tape I watched. He runs by the defense; he changes directions with ease and without slowing down; he sees the field well; and has the ability to make tough catches. The concerns are he needs to get bigger and stronger (which he will … he will be an 18-year-old during his freshman year at Tennessee), and he needs to work on running better routes (which he will).


It really doesn’t matter where the recruiting services have Jackson rated. Outside of current Tennessee quarterback commitment George McIntyre I’m not sure there was a higher priority target on Tennessee’s recruiting board than Radarious Jackson. By the end of the football season, Jackson will push George McIntyre as the top football prospect in the state of Tennessee for 2025.


I can’t remember a recruiting cycle where at the end of April Tennessee had received commitments from the quarterback and wide receiver at the top of their respective recruiting board. With the commitment last week of Sidney Walton and now Radarious Jackson, Tennessee has set the wheels in motion for a productive late spring and summer recruiting run up to fall practice.


If Jackson is able to accumulate comparable offensive numbers during his senior season, he will move himself into consideration as one of the top wide receivers in the country. He may not receive as much fanfare after committing to Tennessee so early in the recruiting cycle.


I will say this in closing, Radarious Jackson is a really good prospect. He is so good Tennessee will need to continue to recruit him all the way to signing day. Jackson will be one of the best players in Tennessee’s class regardless of whether he commits in April or December.


I'll be back next week with a full report ...


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'X' Orange & White Game Report ...

It certainly was a beautiful spring Saturday in Knoxville. What a setting to celebrate the completion of another spring of practice football for the Tennessee Volunteers. The Orange & White game, fully scripted so as not to divulge any state secrets to the 12 opponents on the 2024 schedule, was largely as anticipated ….. uneventful. The best news is there were no major injuries on Saturday. Most of the players who had been nursing an injury didn’t even dress for the game.

Tennessee showed just enough of Nico on Saturday to sustain fan excitement until the end of July. The head coach sure has more courage than I do. After Nico’s first pass play where the offensive line and DeSean Bishop decided not to block anyone, Nico would have spent the rest of the afternoon standing beside me if that was my dime and dance floor.


Takeaways from Saturday and Spring Practice Generally Nico still has plenty to improve upon. Sure, it’s a spring game I get it… Gaston Moore though looked more comfortable in getting the offense from one play to the next play compared to Nico. I expect him to be better at this in the fall.


The roster is better. The secondary is more athletic, the bodies are bigger and more athletic on both lines of scrimmage, and the wide receiver group, minus Squirrel White and Bru McCoy who both return for fall practice, looked bigger and more explosive.

A couple of non-descript things stood out to me in a spring game. Senior Omari Thomas, by all accounts Tennessee's best interior defensive lineman, chased down a running back 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.


Back up offensive lineman Ayden Bussell left the game with a shoulder injury. An injury in a spring game usually signals the end of the afternoon for most players. Bussell returned to action a few plays later. I bet you that caught the attention of both the offensive line coach and the head coach.


Tennessee offensive specialists handled the ball without turning it over. With all the changing personnel parts of a spring game and the quarterbacks didn’t botch a handoff or throw an interception. The running backs and wide receivers secured the ball. Game execution was spot on.


I do not know what to make of the back-up running back situation. Coaches have been singing the praises of both backups all spring. I saw nothing from either Saturday that made me comfortable. What I did see were missed blocking assignments, tentative running, and lack of explosive plays. One of the storylines for the next few weeks is whether Tennessee pursues a running back in the portal.


Josh Heupel is quietly telling his media that Seldon is out until early September. My advice is to add a month to what he is saying publicly and that is when you can reasonably expect Cam Seldon to be healthy enough to return. We know from watching Jabari Small suffer through a lingering shoulder issue that you have to be careful with that injury literally from series to series.


Tennessee has an abundance of riches on the defensive line. You just have the feeling Tennessee might try and redshirt a couple of those interior players when more playing time is available in 2025.


The secondary is an unknown. The “group” is more athletic, but will the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach allow the players to play through some inevitable mistakes or will they play it safe.


If Keenan Pili is healthy, the defense will be plenty good enough. When healthy he is one of Tennessee's best defenders and one of the best linebackers in the conference. He also brings a calming influence on the younger linebackers. Sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Telander is one of Tennessee’s most improved players this spring He took full advantage of being healthy and hitting it off with the new position coach. He made a strong case for starting beside Pili this fall.


Others Who Stood Out

Gaston Moore looks like a capable backup quarterback. I want Nico to make it through the season healthy. If he happened to miss a series or two, Gaston is capable of running the offense.


Mike Matthews doesn’t look like a freshman wide receiver. The long touchdown catch was nice, but I noticed his blocking on Saturday. He was a willing blocker and didn’t shy away from contact at all. The fact that he is a willing blocker and is explosive to boot almost guarantees him playing time next season.


Sham Umarov. Umarov looks like he is furthest along in terms of development of any of the other young offensive linemen. So much so that Umarov has jumped into the competition for the starting left guard position this fall.


Edwin Spillman and Boo Carter. Both true freshmen with a lot to learn. Both flashed here and there Saturday. Those plays should excite fans for their respective futures at Tennessee.


Portal Transfer Jakobe Thomas. His athleticism is something the secondary has been missing. He showed up a lot Saturday.


Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Nathan Robinson. He has put in work in the offseason program. He looks like a completely different player physically than a year ago. Coach Garner will find a way to get Robinson into the rotation this fall.


Lingering Injury Questions You don’t take a chance with any injured player being counted on in the fall. The following injuries though seem problematic.


Tight end Ethan Davis. Davis is as talented a tight end prospect that has played at Tennessee in recent time. He can’t stay healthy. He was held out of the spring game as a precaution. He was injured in the spring game last year and he missed his first season at Tennessee recovering from shoulder surgery. Davis has missed more time with injury than he has practicing. I really want to see him healthy because he can be a difference maker. The tight end position is so important a position to the offense that keeping Davis healthy is a huge concern.


Right tackle John Campbell. Campbell is a key member of the offensive line. Him being healthy and available is important to the offensive. He hasn’t been healthy frankly since mid-season last season. He missed time leading up to the spring game with injury and he reinjured himself in warmups Saturday and was held out as a precaution.


Cam Seldon. His injury is the worst news of the spring. He is such a key piece to the offense. Josh Heupel is telling his media confidantes that Seldon is out until early September. My advice. Add a month. Therefore, you can reasonably expect Cam Seldon to be healthy enough to return in late September or early October. After watching Jabari Small suffer through a lingering shoulder issue for 3 seasons you hold your breath every time the kid takes contact.


Wrapping Things Up ... It's Portal Time In Tennessee:

The transfer portal opens Monday and I’m holding my breath. I do expect Tennessee players to enter the portal. With the money flying around in the NIL market, Tennessee needs to continue to manage its current roster.

I’m watching the defensive line including the pass rushers. Likely the deepest and best in the SEC. You can’t discount other programs who have depth issues at those positions coming after one or more of the experienced linemen with offers that would be hard to turn down.


And how active will Tennessee be when the portal opens? A running back or depth at linebacker isn’t out of the question. And ... how do they feel about Ethan Davis’s recent spate of injuries? Can you find an experienced tight end who can pick up the pace of this offense in a few months?


Tennessee didn’t solve its left guard position this spring. Sham Umarov had a good enough spring to surpass a couple of guys in the competition who were limited because of injury. Also returning offensive linemen Jackson Lampley, Cooper Mays, Andrej Karic, Larry Johnson, Javontez Spraggins, Masai Reddick, and John Campbell all missed some or all of spring practice. The coaches don’t seem to be worried. I should note though at least half of that group have been nursing one injury or another since coming to campus.


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