🏈 College Football's changing world

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 new high-priced man from the 2025 signing class

• Tennessee’s real shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament

• A HUGE win for Kim Caldwell and the Lady Vols

• Is college football ready to do something about fake injuries?

THE COST OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S TALENT

Pete Nakos posted an interesting story for On3 on Wednesday.

Nakos surveyed several NIL collectives from the power conferences to gather information about the 2025 signing class.

One of the questions he asked: who’s the highest-paid player in the class?

The correct answer is probably Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood, who switched from LSU after the Wolverines came in with a big financial offer.

But one ACC collective told On3 the answer is David Sanders Jr.

Sanders is a five-star offensive tackle from Charlotte who signed with Tennessee (he’s now enrolled).

Sanders is projected as the Vols’ starting right tackle ahead of spring practice.

It’s nearly impossible to know how much money players are paid as negotiations are mostly done in secret.

But it’s safe to say that Sanders is one of the highest paid players in the 2025 class.

That means expectations for him will be high from Day One.

Fair or not, how much money a college player makes will affect how fans view him.

And fans are the ones paying the players, at least indirectly.

That’s led to discussions about making sure schools (or their collectives) are spending money wisely.

One reason Ohio State was so successful this past season: the Buckeyes got their money’s worth on their roster.

Ohio State’s roster cost a lot of money — but the players proved their worth on the field.

On3 asked collectives which school spent the smartest on the 2025 signing class.

The most common answer: Georgia.

One SEC NIL collective told On3 that Georgia can afford to “to spend a little less” on players thanks to its on-field success.

Another collective said this:

That’s another position Tennessee is trying to reach: attracting talent without having to overspend.

Georgia and Ohio State are spending money, no doubt.

But they rarely overspend, which allows them room in the budget when a big talent hits free agency.

Examples ➜ Star safety Caleb Downs transferring to Ohio State last year and receivers Zachariah Branch and Noah Thomas choosing Georgia this offseason.

It’s not just how much money you spend; it’s who you’re spending it on.

➡️ We discussed more of Tennessee’s needs in the portal and a big upcoming spring for Tennessee’s offensive line with Austin Price of Volquest. Watch below or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

TENNESSEE’S SHOT AT NO. 1

What a difference a week can make for the Tennessee basketball team.

A week ago, the Vols were coming off consecutive losses to Auburn and Kentucky.

We mentioned in the newsletter that Tennessee was fine… as long as the Vols turned around and handled their business at home.

They did just that.

Tennessee beat walloped Florida 64-44 on Saturday, and then topped Missouri 85-81 on Wednesday.

Tennessee’s latest two wins have the Vols projected as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Just like last week, Tennessee has more work to do.

But the Vols couldn’t ask to be in a much better position with eight regular season games remaining.

Tennessee has the nation’s No. 1 ranked defense.

And the Vols just played one of their best offensive games of the season, which included Igor Milicic Jr. posting his best overall game as a Vol.

Let’s see if Tennessee can keep it going on the road at Oklahoma on Saturday.

📍 Norman, Okla.
⏰ 12:00 p.m. ET
📺 ESPN
📻 99.1 The Sports Animal/WIVK

Oklahoma has a 3-6 record in SEC play, but the Sooners have one of the nation’s top 20 offenses and beat Vanderbilt 97-67 last weekend.

OU will look at Saturday’s game as an opportunity to secure an NCAA tournament bid.

After Saturday, Tennessee will enter Revenge Week.

The Vols will play at Kentucky on Tuesday and host Vanderbilt on Feb. 15 — both teams beat UT in January.

Tennessee has work to do to secure its postseason seeding.

But the Vols have to feel great about where they are right now.

SPORTS NUGGETS

🏈 How will athlete compensation be policed in the new world of college sports? Ross Dellenger has the details as power conferences take control.

🏈 Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy made ESPN’s way-too-early All-American team for the 2025 season. Which Vols are candidates to make the postseason team?

🏈 These SEC teams are rising and falling after the latest portal window, according to The Athletic.

🏈 Could the New England Patriots make Joe Milton available for trade after his strong performance in the regular season finale?

🏀 Congrats to VFL Ron Slay, who’s headed to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. (Check out this week’s SlayRide here.)

🏀 Dalton Knecht should see more opportunities in Charlotte after he was traded by the Lakers earlier this week.

⚾ Several college teams will be featured in the upcoming MLB The Show video game. Tennessee is among the teams.

THAT SIGNATURE WIN

The Lady Vols have done it.

Tennessee’s women’s basketball team beat UConn 80-76 on Thursday night, giving coach Kim Caldwell her biggest win as UT’s coach.

It’s the first time Tennessee has beaten UConn since 2007 (the two sides stopped playing from 2008-2019).

The win gave Tennessee fans another reason to believe in the future of the Lady Vols.

They’ve had a strong season, ranking in the top 20 for several weeks after impressive wins over Florida State and Iowa.

But Tennessee has fallen short several times against the top teams in the SEC.

Thursday’s win over No. 5 ranked UConn will provide a nice lift.

Caldwell arrived at Tennessee facing high expectations.

She embraced those expectations — with the goal of winning big right away.

The Lady Vols were projected as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament by ESPN earlier this week.

Beating a top-5 team will help when its seeding time in March.

Caldwell and the Lady Vols know they have plenty of work to do.

Their win on Thursday shows they might not be far off.

Next up: Tennessee will turn around and play at LSU on Sunday.

Can the Lady Vols score two top-five wins in one week?

FIXING THE FAKE INJURIES

Is college football ready to do something about teams faking injuries?

The answer might be yes.

Last month at the American Football Coaches Association convention in Charlotte, a committee of coaches came up with an idea.

From The Athletic:

Could this fix the problem?

Perhaps.

Of course, there’s already been some pushback.

One concern: what if a quarterback has to leave the game? Does he really have to sit out an entire drive if he’s cleared to return?

It’s been suggested that the quarterback and defensive player (usually a linebacker) that wear in-helmet communication could be exempt from the rule.

But would that make the defensive player with the in-helmet communication the designated “fake injury” player, too?

One reason we’re still having this conversation is the leaders of college football have done nothing about it.

Coaches complain about fake injuries in press conferences and then instruct their players to do it in games.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey issued an in-season memo on Nov. 1 warning of fines and punishment if schools were caught faking injuries.

But did he ever follow up on that threat?

The Athletic’s story showed a play from November that appeared to feature an SEC team faking injury.

The team… was Tennessee.

An NCAA football rules committee will gather later this month to discuss several topics, with fake injuries on the agenda list.

Maybe we’ll see progress on this topic.

And if we don’t… no one should be surprised.

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