8-6 Season Record
Tennessee's scrimmage on Saturday gives its unsettled defensive line a first live audition, with no depth chart released and Garner still pushing for players to separate themselves.
With Chaz Coleman out of the program and Jordan Ross now at LSU, Tennessee is leaning on Penn State transfer Xavier Gilliam and Tulane edge Jordan Norman alongside Tyree Weathersby and Daevin Hobbs. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has flagged the pass rush as a preseason question mark.
Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner said his group has been up and down through fall camp, telling players that youth and roster losses are no excuse for not improving daily. He challenged the unit to stop settling for being "a guy" instead of "the guy."
Sham Umarov and Donovan Haslam are competing at right guard for Tennessee, with LSU transfer Ory Williams and versatile Jesse Perry both in the mix at right tackle as Elarbee searches for his best five.
Tennessee returns four of five offensive line starters, with only Lance Heard gone, and coach Glen Elarbee says this may be his deepest, most competitive group yet — potentially nine or ten players deep.
After finishing 2025 with eight wins, Tennessee is trying to avoid the one-off stumble that has marked each of Josh Heupel's recent seasons. With nine conference games on the 2026 schedule, the margin for a letdown against a team like Kentucky or South Carolina is thinner than ever.
Jim Knowles replaces Tim Banks as Tennessee's defensive coordinator after a 2025 season in which the Vols ranked 91st in scoring defense and 113th against the pass. Knowles' units have historically needed a year to hit their stride, but improvement over those numbers is the expectation.
Tennessee heads toward its September 5 opener against Furman without a named starter, as George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon compete for the job. Neither has meaningful game experience, making the position the program's biggest unknown entering an expanded nine-game SEC slate.
Tennessee's late-season swing at Texas A&M followed by a home date with LSU shapes up as the pivotal stretch of its schedule, with oddsmakers pricing both games within a touchdown or less.
Most sportsbooks have set Tennessee's 2026 regular season win total near 7.5 games, with true freshman Faizon Brandon tracking as the projected starting quarterback. The Vols open September 5 against Furman before traveling to Georgia Tech.
A Las Vegas sportsbook has posted early spreads for four Tennessee games, listing Texas as a 6.5-point favorite in Knoxville while both Alabama and LSU open as pick 'em games there. Tennessee is a 7.5-point underdog for its road trip to Texas A&M.
Tennessee kicks off its 2026 home schedule against FCS Furman on September 5 at Neyland Stadium, with Texas, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, and LSU also visiting Knoxville this fall.
Tennessee sophomore linebacker Jaedon Harmon tore his ACL in practice and will miss the entire season. The former four-star recruit recorded 19 tackles as a freshman, thinning a Vols linebacker room that still returns Arion Carter, Jeremiah Telander and Amare Campbell.
Tennessee 2027 running back commit David Gabriel Georges opened his senior year by taking his first carry 54 yards for a touchdown against nationally ranked Buford (GA). The Baylor School standout chose the Vols over Ohio State and Ole Miss last month.
With the new additions, Tennessee's non-conference schedule is now set for several years ahead, featuring a home-and-home with Washington in 2029-2030 and a Georgia Tech series that begins this season in Atlanta.
Tennessee @ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Texas @ Tennessee
Auburn @ Tennessee
Tennessee @ Arkansas
Alabama @ Tennessee
Tennessee @ South Carolina
