🏈 Tennessee's unexpected news

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:

• Will Tennessee have to replace another cornerback this spring?

• Tennessee has a massive basketball game this weekend

• Oklahoma football makes a statement hire to revive the program

• Another analyst weighs in on Tennessee’s playoff chances in 2025

FREE AGENCY NEVER ENDS IN CFB

Some unexpected news regarding a Tennessee football player came out on Wednesday.

From On3: “Tennessee starting CB Rickey Gibson tells On3 he plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal this spring.”

The story included no quotes from Gibson explaining his plan.

And notice the report is that Gibson “plans” to enter the transfer portal.

He can’t actually do it yet. (The portal window for the spring will open April 16-25.)

So will Gibson transfer?

That likely depends on whether Gibson and Tennessee can come to a(nother) agreement on his compensation for the 2025 season.

Gibson agreed to a new deal following the 2024 season, according to Austin Price of Volquest.

But since then, All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy has suffered a torn ACL, leaving his status for the start of the 2025 season in question.

That makes Gibson more valuable to Tennessee’s defense.

This story was a turn-off to a lot of Tennessee fans this week.

Understandably so.

Tennessee is coming off a College Football Playoff appearance with the goal of competing for championships in 2025.

The last thing fans want to hear about is one of their players wanting more money — with the threat of leaving if he doesn’t get it.

It also wouldn’t be good for Tennessee to lose Gibson, considering McCoy’s status and the lack of proven depth at cornerback.

So what will happen?

Everything could work out — Gibson and Tennessee could agree on whatever deal he will play under this fall.

By next week, he might be on the field for spring practice with all of this being old news.

Or Gibson could decide to transfer.

Gibson is an important player for Tennessee’s defense; he and the coaching staff know that’s true.

It’s also important not to overpay a player and create unrest in the locker room, something we discussed several times on this week’s show.

Something else to consider: As Jayson Swain mentioned on our show, Tennessee has a young group of receivers with plenty to prove.

They need Gibson on the practice field this spring and summer to prepare for the fall.

How will UT’s receivers get better without facing good competition in practice?

That’s another reason Gibson’s presence is important.

One other note: This would not be the first time a player has agreed to a new deal, only to come back and ask for more money.

That’s happened at Tennessee and other schools before.

This might not even be a big deal to Gibson’s teammates.

The oddity is this type of story usually happens behind closed doors, not with the attachment of media coverage.

This is college football in 2025.

Nothing should be a surprise.

➡️ We discussed Gibson’s situation and the hire of offensive assistant Seth Littrell with Austin Price this week. Check out the conversation below or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

THE FIRST SATURDAY IN MARCH

Tennessee is preparing for a HUGE basketball game on Saturday.

📍 Food City Center
⏰ 4:00 p.m. ET
📺 ESPN
📻 99.1 The Sports Animal | 107.7 WIVK

Here’s a question we received on Thursday: Is this the biggest home basketball game in Tennessee history?

“It’s one of the biggest,” ESPN’s Chris Low said on Josh and Swain on Thursday.

Both teams are vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Currently, Alabama projects as a 1-seed while Tennessee projects as the top No. 2 seed.

Could Tennessee jump into a No. 1 seed with a win on Saturday?

Low said he believes the Vols would control their destiny for a No. 1 seed with a win against Alabama.

Tennessee will finish the regular season at Ole Miss and at home against South Carolina next week.

But Tennessee needs to beat Alabama first.

This is a matchup of opposite teams.

Tennessee ranks No. 1 in the nation in defensive efficiency; Alabama ranks No. 3 in the nation in offensive efficiency.

Meanwhile, Tennessee’s offense has been up and down with Alabama’s defense struggling to get stops this season.

Alabama has been red-hot recently, putting up 111 points and making 22 three-pointers on Tuesday against Mississippi State.

Point guard Mark Sears has averaged close to 29 points in his last three games.

But Tennessee defended Sears well last year.

In two losses against Tennessee last season, Sears shot 3-for-11 from three and committed 10 combined turnovers.

Tennessee has won three consecutive games against Alabama over the previous two seasons.

Tennessee will also have the home crowd, which will have an orange-out at Food City Center.

Can Tennessee get its offense going?

A lot of that will depend on guards Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier.

But everyone will need to play his role in this game.

Alabama is second in the nation with 10 “Quad 1” wins.

Tennessee is third with nine.

Saturday presents another big opportunity — for both teams.

➡️ We talked basketball for a full hour this week with VFL and SEC Network analyst Ron Slay. Check it out below or in our Josh and Swain podcast feed.

SPORTS NUGGETS

🏈 Josh Heupel is one of the top coaches contending to win his first national title.

🏈 The Kansas City Chiefs will use the franchise tag on VFL Trey Smith with the hopes of working out a long-term contract.

🏈 Here’s the latest story from Ross Dellenger on the future of college sports and “the great split.”

🏈 Nebraska coach Matt Rhule asked why Big Ten teams would ever play a tough nonconference game while the AD at Texas said the Longhorns will always play big-time nonconference games.

🏀 ESPN has identified eight teams that could win the national title. See if Tennessee is one of them here.

🏀 Jeff Borzello looks at the upcoming coaching carousel in college basketball — with Tennessee getting a mention near the bottom.

⚾ Here’s a preview of the Astros Foundation College Classic, which Tennessee will play in this weekend. The link has broadcast info along with notes on UT’s opponents.

🎧 We had a great time talking to VFL legend Carl Pickens on this week’s show. Check out the conversation here or anywhere you get your podcasts.

OU’S BIG MOVE

Oklahoma made a big hire for its football program on Wednesday.

The Sooners announced Jim Nagy is joining OU to serve as the program’s general manager.

Nagy had been the executive director of the Senior Bowl since 2018, and before that he spent 18 years working in different NFL front offices.

Nagy is highly respected in the world of football talent evaluation.

And he’s bringing an NFL mindset to Oklahoma’s plan to recruit talent to Norman.

This continues a trend of college programs hiring general managers to help with the new and evolving world of college football.

Recently, Notre Dame hired Detroit Lions director of scouting advancement Mike Martin to be the school’s new general manager.

Martin replaced Chad Bowden, who left Notre Dame to become Southern Cal’s GM.

And Texas Tech gave GM James Blanchard a three-year deal worth $1.575 million to stay in Lubbock after he helped the Red Raiders secure a big transfer class.

The way teams recruit talent is changing.

And roster management will become more complicated as school’s begin sharing revenue with athletes.

Who will handle all of the salary cap management and financial negotiations?

Head coaches will continue to play a big role in evaluating and recruiting talent.

But can they handle it all?

Plenty of schools have already provided the answer.

TENNESSEE’S TITLE HOPES

As you know, we have a ways to go until the 2025 football seasons. 

But that doesn’t (and shouldn’t!) stop the discussion of what might happen this season.

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy is the latest analyst to chime in on Tennessee’s football team.

McElroy sees BIG potential for the Vols this year. 

As in… national title potential. 

But McElroy also sees a scenario where the Vols take a step back. 

From McElroy’s Always CFB Podcast:

It’s hard to argue with McElroy. 

If anything, national title talk seems overly optimistic considering Tennessee’s lopsided defeat to Ohio State. 

But Tennessee has moved closer to championship contention the last few years. 

Phil Steele projected this week that the Vols will rank No. 10 in the preseason Associated Press poll.

And Bill Connelly unveiled his initial SP+ ranking for 2025 this week… with the Vols at No. 8.

We have plenty of questions that still need answers. 

What kind of improvement will Nico Iamaleava make?

Will Nico get more help from the offensive line and wide receivers?

Can Tennessee’s defense maintain its high level of play (and perform better against elite teams)?

But remember: every team in college football has a list of questions to sort through. 

They all have six months to go before they have to give an answer.

NEVER miss an episode of Josh and Swain. Here are a few ways to listen to the podcast:

• Apple

• Spotify

• Amazon

• Stitcher

• iHeart

And watch on YouTube!

If you haven’t subscribed to the newsletter, please do so below to receive a free weekly email.

If you ARE subscribed and enjoy the newsletter, please share it with someone else you think might enjoy it, too.

Thank you for reading!