🏀 Tennessee's final run

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 important game at Texas A&M and real shot at a No. 1 seed

• Two players who need to step forward for Tennessee’s offense

• How the Big Ten and SEC plan to reshape the College Football Playoff

• Will college football spring games go the way of the Dodo?

TENNESSEE’S RETURN TO TEXAS

The Tennessee basketball team is about to enter its final stretch of the regular season.

The Vols have had a full week to prepare for Saturday’s game at Texas A&M after rallying to beat Vanderbilt last weekend.

This Saturday presents a big opportunity for the Vols.

📍 College Station, Texas
⏰ 12:00 p.m. ET
📺 ESPN
📻 99.1 The Sports Animal/WIVK

Tennessee entered the week projected as the top No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, the same position the Vols were in a week ago.

Their next opponent, Texas A&M, entered the week projected as the second No. 2 seed.

The Aggies lost at Mississippi State on Tuesday — making the Tennessee game a statement opportunity for Texas A&M.

What does Tennessee need to do to win on the road this weekend?

A couple of items…

🟠 Rebound the ball

Texas A&M is the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country.

The Aggies don’t have a great offense — they’re ranked No. 52 in the country in offensive efficiency (their shooting is dreadful).

Texas A&M will try to control the glass and create second-chance opportunities on Saturday.

If the Aggies miss shots as they’ve done all season, Tennessee can’t let them get extra looks.

🟠 Attack the rim

Tennessee was aggressive in the second half against Vanderbilt, and it paid off.

How will Tennessee shoot the ball from the outside on Saturday?

That’s difficult to predict.

If the Vols aren’t hitting outside shots, they need to find ways to score in the paint.

Last year, Tennessee went 1-1 against Texas A&M.

In Tennessee’s loss, the Vols scored 28 points in the paint.

In the win… Tennessee scored 46 points in the paint.

Be the aggressor, Tennessee.

➡️ What Saturday can mean

Tennessee has a real shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

That’s if the Vols take advantage of their opportunities.

Alabama, a projected No. 1 seed, has lost two straight games and faces a brutal stretch of opponents to close the season.

One of those games will be in Knoxville on March 1.

If Tennessee can win at Texas A&M, the Vols will have a real opportunity to earn the school’s first ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

And if the Vols lose on Saturday…

All is not lost.

Disappointing?

Sure.

But a road loss against a potential No. 2 seed would not hurt Tennessee too much.

It would put more pressure on the Vols in their final four games, however.

Winning on Saturday would be a good idea for Tennessee.

🎧 We talked Tennessee basketball and the upcoming Texas A&M game with Grant Ramey of Volquest on Thursday’s show. Listen below or anywhere you get your podcasts.

WHO’S READY TO STEP UP?

Tennessee’s wide receiver position has, well, received plenty of attention this offseason. 

Last year’s group had a disappointing season. 

The Vols’ 2025 receiving corps will look almost brand new from last season. 

Chris Brazzell II is the only regular contributor returning from the 2024 group. 

Right now, Tennessee projects to have seven receivers this fall. 

The Vols could add another receiver after spring practice. (They could also lose someone; you never know.)

And this spring, the group will be limited to 5-6 players. 

Freshman Joakim Dodson won’t arrive until the summer. 

And Austin Price of Volquest told us Wednesday that transfer Amari Jefferson, who dealt with a hip injury at Alabama, will be limited this spring. 

Tennessee’s receivers for the spring:

• Chris Brazzell 
• Mike Matthews
• Braylon Staley
• Radarious Jackson (signee)
• Travis Smith (signee)

Jackson and Smith will get plenty of chances to show if they’ll be ready to help as freshmen. 

“Throw them in the deep end and see if they can swim,” Price said. 

And then there’s Matthews, who will receive the most attention of the group. 

The former five-star decided to stay at Tennessee instead of enter the transfer portal. 

Now Matthews needs to show he’s ready to make a difference in UT’s offense. 

“He’s gotta step forward,” Price said. “You wanna be the guy? Then go be the guy.”

There’s another player to watch outside of the names listed above.

Tight end Ethan Davis. 

We saw some of Davis’ ability last season, but he wasn’t nearly involved as some (me…) thought he would be.

Will we see more of Davis this fall?

Holden Staes is gone after transferring to Indiana. 

A Davis leap this offseason could make Tennessee’s offensive coaches (and QB Nico Iamaleava) feel a lot better.

The opportunity is now here.

➡️ Check out more of our conversation with Austin Price, who also updated Tennessee’s coaching moves this week.

SPORTS NUGGETS

🏈 See which game will define Tennessee’s 2025 season in this article from ESPN.

🏈 There’s legislation in West Virginia that would prohibit the NCAA from investigating athletes for NIL activities.

🏈 What will happen with VFL Trey Smith is one of the top 10 storylines for the NFL’s free agency period.

🏀 See where Jay Bilas ranks Tennessee (and what he believes the Vols need offensively).

🏀 Read this inspirational story from Chris Low on Austin Peay’s Hansel Enmanuel, who plays basketball without a left arm.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S FUTURE

It looks like we’re getting closer to answers on what the future of college football will look like.

Leaders of the Big Ten and SEC met this week in New Orleans to discuss several topics, including the College Football Playoff and revenue sharing with athletes.

We know one thing the Power 2 conferences want: they want the seeding format of the playoff to change in 2025.

The 12-team playoff was introduced last season with the top four seeds going to the four highest-ranked conference champs.

According to Yahoo Sports, the Big Ten and SEC want the seeding to align with the committee’s rankings.

Last year, Tennessee would have hosted a first-round game rather than travel to Ohio State if the seeding aligned with the rankings.

Will we see this change?

Maybe, but a change requires unanimity from the 10 FBS leagues and Notre Dame.

That won’t be easy.

Other topics to watch from the Big Ten and SEC meetings:

◼️ College Football Playoff expansion

Expect the playoff to expand beyond 12 teams in 2026.

“The only question is it going to go to 14 or 16 (teams)?” ESPN’s Chris Low told us on Thursday.

Expect 2025 to be the final year of the 12-team playoff.

◼️ Automatic playoff spots

The Big Ten and SEC are expected to push for four automatic spots in the expanded playoff.

According to Yahoo, the ACC and Big 12 would get a bump to two auto spots for each conference.

That might be fine for the Big 12, but the ACC could push back.

As Low pointed out, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, and SMU have all shown to be playoff-level programs.

Do the Big Ten and SEC need four auto bids each?

No.

History tells us they would almost always get at least four teams into a 14- or 16-team playoff.

Conference Championship play-in games

What’s more interesting with the idea of four automatic bids: a play-in format from the SEC.

From The Athletic:

Neither the SEC nor the Big Ten has finalized plans for its conference auto bids in the future.

But it looks like everything is on the table.

Revenue sharing

Here’s some potentially good news: we might be getting closer to an improved system to pay players.

Schools are expected to begin sharing revenue with athletes later this year.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the conversations led to optimism about upcoming changes.

No one is expecting perfection with the revenue share.

But improvement is a must.

➡️ Check out more of our conversation with Chris Low about the future of the College Football Playoff below or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

SPRING CLEANING

Tennessee will hold its spring game at Neyland Stadium on April 12.

Here’s a question: Will this be the last Orange & White Game we ever see?

Nebraska, Texas and Southern Cal announced they won’t have a spring game this year. 

There’s a chance this becomes the norm. 

“College football is changing right now, and we need to do a great job of adapting,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told the “Up & Adams Show.”

Sarkisian noted the longer season Texas just played.

He also said he’s more interested in an NFL-style OTA (organized team activities) format for college football. 

A source at USC told ESPN that the spring game has typically been a tool to connect with fans. 

But USC believes it can do that in ways other than playing a spring “game,” which counts as one of the 15 spring practices allowed by the NCAA.

There are differing opinions about what should happen with spring games. 

They could go away altogether. 

Or maybe they could be replaced with an exhibition game between Power 4 teams and teams from the Group of 5 or FCS.

But even that idea has caused some coaches to worry that other schools will try to steal their players if they perform well in a spring game.

Schools need to remember one thing: the fans.

The USC source is correct; the spring game has offered fans a chance to connect with their favorite team.

Tennessee could do away with spring games in the future.

But if that happens, something to connect the fans to the program needs to remain.

Add this topic to the ongoing changes in the world of college football.

BEFORE WE GO…

Second Harvest Food Bank is attempting to pack the bag.

What does this mean?

Second Harvest, which helps feed people in 18 East Tennessee counties, is looking for help with the very important Food For Kids program.

This program ensures children receive food during the weekends while they’re away from home.

Food For Kids helps serve 15,099 children!

The stats above show how impactful a donation can be.

An $8 donation sponsors a child for a month — and a $100 donation sponsors a child for an entire year.

Would you like to help? CLICK HERE to make a donation.

You won’t regret it.

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