🏈 Tennessee's big portal need

Hello. This is the Josh and Swain Newsletter, a quick roundup of the week’s top stories and topics involving Tennessee and the sports world.

Here’s what we have for you today:

• Tennessee’s growing need for help at wide receiver

• The incredible depth of SEC basketball as conference play begins

• The gap between Tennessee’s talent and the nation’s most talented team

• The SEC was down in 2024… is that a sign of change in college football?

TENNESSEE’S RECEIVER DILEMMA

It’s been almost two weeks since Tennessee’s season ended with a College Football Playoff loss to Ohio State.

Tennessee’s full attention has turned to the offseason and preparation for 2025.

The biggest question that’s seemed to hang over UT’s program: what will happen with wide receiver Mike Matthews?

By the time you read this, we might have an answer.

The reason the question has become such a big deal, though, is fans have been wondering for nearly a week.

Matthews told On3 on Saturday night that he planned to enter the transfer portal ahead of the understood deadline of Dec. 28.

But as of Thursday night, Matthews hadn’t officially entered the portal.

This appears to be due to a timeline issue of when Matthews returned the paperwork, followed by the time it would take UT to submit the paperwork — with the Jan. 1 holiday mixed in.

As of now, Matthews is expected to officially enter the portal on Friday, according to Austin Price of Volquest. (Matthews entering the portal is also not guaranteed to happen, either).

Losing Matthews would be tough; he was a five-star prospect in the 2024 class and would project to start for the Vols next season.

He’s a talented player with the potential to play at a high level in the SEC.

For now, we’ll remove Matthews from the discussion of Tennessee’s wide receivers for 2025.

So let’s take a look at:

1) Tennessee receivers who entered the transfer portal
2) who the Vols project to have at WR as of this writing

⚫ UT receivers in the portal

Squirrel White
Chas Nimrod
Kaleb Webb (transferring to Maryland)
Nathan Leacock
Nate Spillman

🟠 Receivers set to play for UT in 2025

Chris Brazzell - 29 catches, 333 yards, 2 TD in 2024
Braylon Staley - 3 catches, 21 yards in 2024
Travis Smith Jr. - true freshman, enrolled
Radarious Jackson - true freshman, enrolled
Joakim Dodson - true freshman, signed

Here’s an obvious statement: Tennessee needs to find more help in the transfer portal.

It looks like UT is close to landing one player.

Less than an hour after reports came out that Alabama freshman Amari Jefferson planned to enter the portal, Pete Nakos and Steve Wiltfong of On3 both predicted he would transfer to Tennessee.

Jefferson was a four-star receiver in the 2024 class who chose Bama over Tennessee.

Jefferson, who attended Baylor School in Chattanooga, had once been committed to Tennessee to play baseball.

Jefferson could be a big addition for Tennessee — UT’s staff coveted him a year ago, after all.

But he also didn’t play as a true freshman at Alabama, so it’s difficult to project what kind of immediate impact he would make at Tennessee.

The Vols will pursue other receivers, too.

Nakos reported on Monday that Tennessee was “all in” on trying to get USC WR transfer Zachariah Branch to visit — with Bru McCoy (a former USC transfer) and Nico Iamaleava’s father playing a role in the recruitment.

Branch didn’t produce big numbers at USC but is a big-time athlete who could help Tennessee’s offense.

Branch received an endorsement from Jayson Swain following the On3 report.

Let’s see if Tennessee has a real shot at Branch, who has visited Georgia and Arizona State and appears set to visit Miami.

Florida State transfer Malik Benson, who played at Alabama in 2023, could be another option.

Benson has yet to produce big numbers but has real power conference experience.

There’s still plenty of time for Tennessee to add players.

Not every team has finished its season, meaning more players will enter the portal.

But it’s also clear that Tennessee needs to find help.

The Vols’ passing game struggled last season, and the current group of receivers will not inspire confidence that a huge breakout is coming in 2025.

And who knows: maybe Matthews will change his mind and stay.

Either way, Tennessee’s staff needs to look for more help.

They know it, too.

➡️ Check out Thursday’s conversation with Austin Price of Volquest below or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

THE GREAT SEC GAMES BEGIN

The Tennessee basketball team is in a great position entering the month of January.

The Vols have a 13-0 record and are ranked No. 1 in the country.

(VERY early) bracketology updates project the Vols as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

But the real season for Tennessee is about to begin.

That’s because the SEC looks more like a basketball conference than a football conference this year.

The SEC has four of the top nine and seven of the top 23 teams, according to KenPom.

Tennessee will open conference play at home against Arkansas on Saturday.

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That means former Kentucky coach John Calipari and former Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo will be back in town.

Arkansas has a talented team and could challenge Tennessee.

But the Vols’ perimeter defense should provide a big advantage at home.

If Tennessee gets the win over Arkansas, UT’s unbeaten record will be put to an immediate test.

Next week, Tennessee will play AT Florida (13-0) and Texas (11-2).

Here’s a look at Tennessee’s road schedule in the SEC, with each team’s KenPom ranking in parentheses:

• Florida (6th)
• Texas (35th)
• Vanderbilt (49th)
• Auburn (1st)
• Oklahoma (40th)
• Kentucky (22nd)
• Texas A&M (14th)
• LSU (56th)
• Ole Miss (33rd)

Eight of Tennessee’s nine SEC road games will be against teams ranked in KenPom’s top 50.

Every team in the league will face this kind of challenge.

That can be a positive as the strength of schedule can really boost an NCAA Tournament resume.

Tennessee just needs to win enough games to take advantage.

The Vols also need to stay healthy; this SEC schedule will grind on Tennessee over the next 10 weeks.

We’re a long way from knowing how this season will play out for the Vols.

I know this: it should provide a lot of entertainment for Tennessee fans along the way.

➡️ We talked Tennessee and SEC basketball with VFL Ron Slay during this week’s Slay Ride. Listen to the full conversation below or anywhere you get your podcasts.

SPORTS NUGGETS

🏈 SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is “absolutely” interested in tweaking the CFB Playoff format before the 2025 season.

🏈 Jay Busbee looks at the non-call of targeting that had a big impact on Texas advancing past Arizona STate.

🏈 Here’s a look at the NFL’s postseason scenarios entering the final week of the regular season.

🏈 Alabama will have a new starting quarterback in 2025 as Jalen Milroe (plus linebacker Jihaad Campbell) declared for the NFL draft.

🏀 Six former Florida State players have sued coach Leonard Hamilton over failed NIL promises.

🏀 Dalton Knecht was one of the biggest college basketball stories of the year in 2024..

📺 Check out this segment and this segment from last week’s Sports Source for some very telling numbers about Tennessee’s passing game in 2024.

TRYING TO CATCH THE BUCKEYES

Ohio State looks like the best team in college football right now.

The Buckeyes followed up their 42-17 win over Tennessee with a 41-21 win over Oregon on Wednesday.

Ohio State led 34-0 and made it look easy against the No. 1 team in the country.

There didn’t appear to be an elite team in college football during the regular season.

But maybe Ohio State is changing that idea.

How are they doing it?

With elite talent.

We saw the difference between Tennessee and Ohio State when they played in Columbus on Dec. 21.

Pro Football Focus gave us another idea of how wide the gap is between the two teams when PFF released its NFL Draft Big Board this week.

Tennessee has five players ranked on PFF’s board:

29. James Pearce Jr.
51. Omarr Norman-Lott
54. Dylan Sampson
238. Bru McCoy
261. Cooper Mays

How many Ohio State players made PFF’s board?

14.

The Buckeyes have two players ranked in the top 15, five players in the top 50, and 10 players in the top 100.

And that doesn’t include first-team All-American safety Caleb Downs or Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State’s superstar freshman wide receiver.

No wonder the game wasn’t close on Dec. 21.

Tennessee has upgraded its overall talent and depth in recent years.

That’s part of the reason the Vols made the playoff this season.

But once it came time to play against the top contenders, Tennessee was no match.

In case you’re wondering, Georgia also has 14 players on PFF’s Big Board.

That’s another team Tennessee is trying to catch in the SEC.

As you’ve seen on the field and on paper, there’s more work to be done.

IT’S UP TO YOU, TEXAS

This hasn’t turned out to be a banner football season for the SEC.

Notre Dame eliminated Georgia from the playoff on Thursday with a 23-10 win in the Sugar Bowl.

In the postseason, we’ve seen Tennessee get blown out by Ohio State and Texas need overtime to survive against Arizona State.

We always have to be careful about bowl results, but Alabama’s loss to Michigan and South Carolina falling to Illinois don’t help the SEC’s appearance.

So what does this mean?

It could just be a down season for the SEC… or it could be a sign that the league won’t be as mighty at the top moving forward.

The SEC’s top programs have been affected by the ability for schools to pay players and those players’ ability to transfer and play elsewhere right away.

Instead of Alabama, Georgia or LSU having backups that could start elsewhere, those teams’ backups can now transfer — and start elsewhere.

Could this affect Tennessee as well?

It looks like it.

Cornerback Jordan Matthews and linebacker Jalen Smith would have been Tennessee’s third or fourth options at their respective positions next year.

Instead, they chose to transfer for a chance to start (Smith at Mississippi State and Matthews at Vanderbilt) at lower level SEC schools.

That won’t make Mississippi State or Vandy SEC contenders, but it might affect Tennessee when it tries to make a deep run next season.

Ohio State reportedly bolstered the most expensive roster in college football this season.

The Buckeyes look like they have the best roster on the field.

Tennessee (and others) will need to make sure they evaluate correctly both in recruiting and the transfer portal.

Look at Notre Dame, a team that has struggled to keep up with top SEC teams in the last two decades.

The Irish were led by quarterback Riley Leonard, who transferred from Duke.

Both of Notre Dame’s touchdowns were scored by transfers: Beaux Collins (Clemson) and Jayden Harrison (Marshall).

The current format of college football is flawed.

The portal and players’ ability to move around so easily has caused a lot of confusion in the sport.

But so far, it’s shaken up the college football landscape.

Schools will have to adjust accordingly.

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