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- š BIG weekend for Tennessee Football
š BIG weekend for Tennessee Football
The Vols are ready to upgrade
Hello. This is the Josh and Swain Newsletter, a quick roundup of the weekās top stories and topics involving Tennessee and the sports world.
Hereās what we have for you today:
Why this weekend is so important for Tennesseeās future success
How Joe Milton has taken the next step as a leader
A new (and familiar) offensive staff member for Josh Heupel
The good and the questionable re: Tennessee Football in 2023
TENNESSEE IS READY TO IMPRESS
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/ad7b6629-d8d6-4080-afca-f3a42c38ee4f/Josh-Heupel-and-players.jpg)
Tennessee is about to host its largest recruiting weekend of the offseason.
āItās a massive weekend,ā Austin Price of Volquest said on Thursday.
The Vols have invited as many recruits as possible to Knoxville for Memorial Day Weekend.
And A LOT of the prospects have four and five stars next to their names.
Tennesseeās success over the last two seasons has attracted more highly-touted players to campus.
Now the Volsā staff will try to sell them on choosing Tennessee over schools like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and other elite programs.
Tennessee won several of those battles in the 2023 class, landing linebacker Arion Carter over Alabama, Rickey Gibson over Georgia, and Jordan Matthews over LSU. Just to name a few.
Tennessee hopes to win more of those battles in 2024.
ā Hereās one big battle to watch:
Four-star wide receiver Amari Jefferson from Baylor School in Chattanooga is a high priority for Tennesseeās staff.
Jefferson recently told BamaInsider that Tennessee is third on his list behind Alabama and Georgia.
āI think that changes this week,ā Price said. āI think the quote coming out of this week is, āTennesseeās now on par with the other two.ā Iāll be shocked if thatās not the quote coming out of Saturday.ā
Thatās an example of what Tennessee is trying to do this weekend.
We wonāt go through the whole list of prospects visiting. Itās way too long.
But hereās a sample of players expected on UTās campus:
5ā Linebacker Sammy Brown
4ā Edge Kameryn Fountain
4ā Running back Peyton Lewis
4ā Cornerback Kam Mikell
5ā Edge Dylan Stewart
How many commitments will Tennessee get this weekend?
No guesses on the total here, but Peyton Lewis is a player to watch.
A lot of this weekend will be about establishing/strengthening relationships with many of Tennesseeās top targets.
Some fans are die-hards about recruiting. Others casually follow or prefer the ālet me know after they signā approach.
Whatever your preference is fine.
But thereās no argument about the importance of recruiting.
Want to win titles? Better sign a bunch of great players.
Thatās what Heupel and his staff are working on right now.
Learn more about the latest with Tennesseeās recruiting and the upcoming weekend from Austin Price below. ā¬ļøā¬ļø
BIG JOE ON THE GO
Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III and wide receiver Ramel Keyton made the trip to New York City this week thanks to Spyre Sports Group.
The duoās trip included visits with NASDAQ, Topps, Burberry, Good Morning Football with the NFL Network, and others.
But the offseason hasnāt been all about branding for Milton and his teammates.
Itās been about building.
Tennesseeās returning players know expectations have risen following the Volsā successful 2022 season.
Itās up to the returning (and arriving) players to keep those expectations up.
That starts with Milton.
Is he ready to lead Tennesseeās football team and keep the Volsā offense near the level of last year, when UT was No. 1 in the nation in scoring offense?
Weāll find out this fall. But Milton continues to show signs of leadership that back up his growth since arriving in Knoxville.
Former Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs joined Josh and Swain on Wednesday and shared his note about an offseason workout with Milton when Dobbs was in Knoxville:
āI remember texting Joe. I was like, āIāll be in Friday, gotta get a workout in if yāall want to.ā He was like, āCool, Iāll get it setup.ā And then showing up, Friday at 9 pm, and he has every receiver out there. Theyāre in the warmup lines. Theyāre ready to go get some work in. It was very cool to see that culture from the guys, the current guys at Tennessee.ā
This story from Dobbs doesnāt mean Milton will be an All-SEC quarterback this fall or that the Vols will easily replace guys like Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt.
But it shows the new leaders picked up from the impression left behind by Hooker.
Accountability from Tennesseeās players and planning from the Volsā coaches will create huge potential for the offense this fall.
Milton is shining off the field right now.
If he and his teammates keep working this offseason, it should carry over to the field when Tennessee opens the season against Virginia on Sept. 2.
Check out our full conversation with Dobbs, who will be in Knoxville this weekend for his sixth annual Joshua Dobbs Youth Football Camp.
SPORTS NUGGETS
š Tennessee sold out its season tickets for the 2023 season. The success is paying off.
š Ex-UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton joined Tennessee as an offensive analyst. Milton played for Josh Heupel at UCF from 2018-20.
š See which ranking(s) you disagree with from Bill Connellyās list of the top 75 college football quarterbacks during the 2000s.
š„ Tennessee will play a best-of-three series against Texas for the right to go to the College World Series. Here is the Super Regional info.
š Can the Boston Celtics make history? They need two more wins this weekend to pull off the NBAās first-ever comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs.
ā½Perhaps the biggest sporting event in the world this weekend: Coventry City vs Luton Town for the EFL Championship and promotion to the English Premier League.
STICK TO SPORTS!
This story is from a few years ago but came up on Josh and Swain during our āattaboyā segment.
Itās the story of kindergarten students from Hickerson Elementary School in Tullahoma, Tenn., singing happy birthday to custodian James Anthony on his 60th birthday.
A Coffee County employee for more than two decades, Anthony is hearing impaired but can read lips.
Watch the joy unfold below.
ONE LAST BYTE OUT THE DOOR
We had a fun list of guests this week. (Subscribe where you get your podcasts!)
The list included ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic, who hosts a daily radio show on WJOX as well as his Cube Show podcast.
Cubelic explained on our show why he believes Tennessee is capable of competing for the SEC East this fall ā along with discussing questions he has about the personnel.
āIf (receiver) Dontāe Thornton can run anything like Jalin Hyatt,ā Cubelic said, āwhich Iāve heard from multiple people in and around that building that I trust that says he can. Then the biggest difference is going to be up front on that offensive line.ā
Cole Cubelic is as good as it gets covering SEC football. Check out the full conversation below. ā¬ļøā¬ļø
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Newsletter Note: Weāll take a break next week and return with the next newsletter edition on Friday, June 9.
Thank you for reading and please share with anyone you think might enjoy doing so, too.