🏈 (Spring) football time in Tennessee

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:

• Key storylines for Tennessee Football as the Vols begin spring practice

• Why Tennessee’s position is still favorable after losing at Ole Miss

• An update on CB Rickey Gibson: will he practice with UT this spring?

• Jahmai Mashack’s huge impact on Tennessee — on and off the court

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

Tennessee will begin spring football practice on Friday.

The Vols will hold 15 practices this spring.

The Orange & White Game on April 12 will serve as practice No. 15.

(Click here for details on the Vols’ spring game.)

This will be an intriguing spring for coach Josh Heupel’s UT football team.

The Vols are coming off a top-10 season and appearance in the College Football Playoff.

That’s created a goal of not only returning to the playoff — but advancing.

Tennessee has to replace several key players from the 2024 squad to make 2025 an even bigger success.

What are some storylines to pay attention to when the Vols begin practice on Friday?

Here’s a list we came up with on Josh and Swain — with the storylines coming in no particular order of rank.

🟠 Replacing the pros

Every successful program has to replace high-level players from one year to the next.

How Tennessee fills the void left by some of its best players will be key.

Tennessee’s top projected NFL draft pick is defensive end James Pearce Jr.

He won’t be easy to replace because of his talent.

But the Vols have plenty of experience and talent returning on the edge.

Joshua Josephs and Tyre West will help lead the way.

And junior Caleb Herring and sophomore Jordan Ross will see expanded opportunities.

On offense, how will Tennessee replace Dylan Sampson?

He set several records at running back last season.

Returning backs DeSean Bishop and Peyton Lewis and newcomers Star Thomas and Daune Morris will work to duplicate what Sampson did by himself.

Tennessee also has to replace important players like defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott, center Cooper Mays at center, and receivers Bru McCoy and Dont’e Thornton.

That leads us to…

⚫ Tennessee’s wide receivers

This group has received plenty of attention during the last few months.

And that will continue this spring.

Chris Brazzell is the most experienced player returning, and he still has plenty to prove.

Will sophomores Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley take charge?

How about Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith?

It’s difficult for freshmen to get real opportunities over veterans.

But Tennessee doesn’t have any veteran receivers.

That opens the door for Jackson and Smith.

Also, how much work will transfer Amari Jefferson receive this spring?

Keep an eye on Boo Carter.

He wants a shot on offense, and he should get it this spring.

Carter is also part of another important group…

🟠 Tennessee’s second-year defenders

While Carter works on offense, he’ll play a bigger role on defense.

Tennessee’s staff will watch second-year DBs Kaleb Beasley and Edrees Farooq.

Ross is a player Tennessee needs to make a jump.

He was a five-star prospect in the 2024 class, which means it’s time for him to show it on the field.

And with linebacker Arion Carter out this spring, Edwin Spillman will get a chance to show what he’s made of.

Can Spillman grab a starting spot this offseason?

Speaking of starters, what about…

⚫ Tennessee’s offensive line

The Vols return one starting O-lineman: left tackle Lance Heard.

He needs to have a good spring along with other players battling for starting spots.

Transfers Wendell Moe Jr. and Sam Pendleton will likely start at guard.

What about center?

Several players will battle for that position.

And at right tackle, let’s see how highly-touted signee David Sanders Jr. performs.

He’ll have big expectations on Day One.

➡️ We talked more about players to watch this spring with Austin Price of Volquest on this week’s show. Check out the interview below or anywhere you get your podcasts.

WHERE THE VOLS STAND

It’s been another wild week for Tennessee basketball.

Since we last connected in the newsletter, the Vols won an unforgettable game against Alabama on Jahmai Mashack’s buzzer-beater… and then lost a close road game at Ole Miss.

That leaves Tennessee close to where it was a week ago: as a No. 2 seed.

Can the Vols jump back to a No. 1 seed, which is where they were after beating Alabama?

That seems unlikely.

Tennessee can’t help its resume this weekend because South Carolina is too weak of an opponent.

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Florida, which jumped Tennessee to a No. 1 seed, has an advantage with its overall record and quality road wins (at Alabama and Auburn).

Florida will host Ole Miss on Saturday; if the Gators win, that will increase their lead over Tennessee.

There’s also the SEC tournament next week.

But it’s difficult to project how much (if at all) the SEC tourney will affect seeding for the NCAA tournament.

Still, Tennessee is in a great spot.

As of this writing, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports projects Tennessee to be the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region.

(These projections are fluid and could change by the time you read this.)

Palm’s projection has Tennessee playing the first weekend in Lexington, Ky.

That’s an easy drive for many UT fans.

The Vols’ second-round matchup would be against UCLA or West Virginia.

Neither of those teams should scare Tennessee.

Purdue would be the No. 3 seed in Palm’s projection; you might be aware of some history there.

But again, Tennessee shouldn’t fear that matchup.

Most of this will change, too.

The point is: Tennessee is in a good spot…

As long as the Vols handle their business vs South Carolina.

The Gamecocks have gone 0-8 in SEC road games this season — and they’ve lost seven of those games by double digits.

Tennessee will have to handle the emotions of Senior Day.

And those will be on full display.

Tennessee will honor a big senior class:

• Darlinstone Dubar
• Jordan Gainey
• Chaz Lanier
• Jahmai Mashack
• Igor Milicic Jr.
• Zakai Zeigler

The crowd’s reaction for all the seniors will be great.

It will be an all-timer for Zeigler, who arrived at Tennessee as a complete unknown and will leave as a Vols legend.

“He’s as good a point guard as I’ve ever seen at Tennessee,” ESPN’s Chris Low said. “Probably the best.”

Zeigler is an All-American candidate and one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which goes to the nation’s top point guard.

He’s not the only Vol up for big awards.

Lanier is a finalist for the Jerry West Award, which goes to the nation’s top shooting guard.

And Mashack is a candidate for SEC and national Defensive Player of the Year.

The seniors’ focus will be on beating South Carolina and making a deep run in the postseason.

But their accomplishments should be celebrated.

Tennessee has been ranked the entire four years that Mashack and Zeigler have been at UT.

And the Vols have spent a lot of that time in the top 10.

They’ve won multiple SEC titles and made a run to the Elite Eight.

This year’s team spent five weeks ranked No. 1 and still has a big postseason opportunity.

They deserve a big sendoff on Saturday.

There’s no doubt they’ll get one.

SPORTS NUGGETS

🏈 Pro Football Focus has Nico Iamaleava as a “top-10 returning quarterback in America” and a reason to believe Tennessee can return to the CFB Playoff.

🏈 The NCAA Football Rules Committee proposed a rule change in hopes of addressing fake injuries in college football.

🏈 Here’s an SEC spring preview with storylines and players to watch for all 16 teams.

🏈 Daniel Jeremiah ranks James Pearce Jr. as his No. 22 overall prospect following the NFL Combine.

🏈 See how Paul Finebaum views Tennessee’s program under Josh Heupel following the Vols’ appearance in the CFB Playoff.

🏀 The SEC has looked like the most dominant conference in hoops this year. But could the SEC collapse in the NCAA tournament?

🏀 Jay Bilas wants to see college basketball move to four quarters instead of two halves. Do you agree?

⚾ Here’s the series info for Tennessee vs St. Bonaventure. (UT will open SEC play at home next Friday against Florida.)

⚾ Stephen A. Smith has a new five-year, $100 million at ESPN, according to The Athletic.

STATUS CHECK: RICKEY GIBSON

Another storyline for Tennessee’s spring practice: the status of cornerback Rickey Gibson.

All indications point to Gibson going through spring practice with the Vols.

This follows last week’s report from On3 that Gibson planned to enter the transfer portal in April.

Gibson could still do that, but it appears more likely that he will stay at Tennessee.

No one has reported yet that Gibson has agreed to a new deal or confirmed he will stay with the Vols this fall.

But as of now, that’s the expectation.

Here’s Austin Price on Josh and Swain on Wednesday:

That’s good news for Tennessee’s defense, which needs Gibson at cornerback.

Jermod McCoy won’t take part in spring practice as he’s recovering from a torn ACL.

That leaves Gibson, who had a strong 2024 season, as the Vols’ CB1.

Gibson’s presence helps Tennessee’s secondary.

It also helps the Vols’ young wide receivers.

They need to go up against the best competition possible in practice.

We still need to hear Gibson confirm his status for the fall.

But Gibson and Tennessee appear to have taken important steps for him to play at UT in 2025.

ATTABOY, JAHMAI

Tennessee beat Alabama 79-76 on Saturday thanks to Jahmai Mashack’s shot at the buzzer.

On Monday, Mashack used that moment to help others.

Mashack launched a virtual food drive to support Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.

Mashack’s original fundraising goal: $7,900 (in honor of scoring 79 points vs Bama).

Donations came pouring in, so Mashack kept raising the goal.

The new goal: $40,000, which would provide 120,000 meals to people in need in East Tennessee.

As of this writing, Mashack is 96% to his goal.

Mashack was named to the SEC Community Service Team on Thursday for the second consecutive season.

Appropriate timing.

What Mashack has done on the court matters a lot.

What he’s done off the court matters even more.

➡️ If you’d like to donate to Mashack’s food drive to support Second Harvest, CLICK THIS LINK.

And if you’d like to enjoy a fun story from VFL Ron Slay on how he watched the end of Tennessee’s win over Alabama, watch below.

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