Hello. In today’s story:
Jayson Swain’s BIG expectations for Tennessee’s skill players
How Josh Heupel will handle Tennessee’s QB rotation
The ‘heart and soul’ of Tennessee’s new-look defense
LSU vs the SEC has gotten uglier
BIG EXPECTATIONS FOR 2026
RB DeSean Bishop can join elite company this season | via UT Athletics
Most of the attention this summer has been on Tennessee’s quarterback position.
Totally understandable.
But as we talk about how freshman Faizon Brandon will play — and we’ll do that today — we can’t forget the players around him.
One reason to be optimistic about Brandon’s chance to succeed this year: the Vols have a lot of returning talent.
That includes the skill positions.
DeSean Bishop ran for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns last season, which helped him earn second-team All-SEC honors.
Behind Bishop, Tulane transfer Javin Gordon and Daune Morris have impressed.
“The group, top to bottom, has continued to grow and may be as strong as any running back room that we have had here at Tennessee,” coach Josh Heupel said on Aug. 24.
Two other skill players to watch: junior receivers Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley.
Matthews and Staley each had more than 800 receiving yards last season.
They have room to improve — drops were an issue at times last year — but they’ve both shown they can make plays in the SEC.
How good can the trio of Bishop, Matthews and Staley be this season?
Jayson Swain on Thursday’s show:
“I’m expecting two receivers for 1,000 yards. I’m expecting Bishop to get a thousand (rushing yards). I’m expecting it.”
That’s a lofty goal.
But you can bet the players expect the same of themselves.
How big of a deal would it be to have all three players reach 1,000 yards this season?
Consider this: only 11 times has a Tennessee receiver gone for 1,000 yards in a season.
It’s never happened twice in the same season.
And for Bishop, he would be only the second player to produce two 1,000-yard rushing seasons at UT.
Johnnie Jones accomplished the feat in 1983 and 1984.
Those are big goals and expectations for Tennessee’s returning skill positions.
It sure would help Brandon if they can pull it off.
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MANAGING THE QUARTERBACKS
How will Josh Heupel handle UT’s quarterbacks this week? | via UT Athletics
We received this question on Wednesday: how will Heupel handle the quarterback position against Furman?
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Backup quarterback George MacIntyre could use some reps. And he should get them against Furman.
But Brandon will make his first appearance as a college quarterback on Saturday.
He needs all the snaps he can get in a real game.
Brent Hubbs of Volquest asked Heupel on Saturday how he’ll approach it.
Heupel’s response: “You’ll find out on Saturday.”
Not exactly helpful.
But as Swain explained this week, Heupel doesn’t know how he’ll handle it.
Because he doesn’t know how the game will go.
“Josh Heupel doesn’t know. You have an idea of what you want to do, but that all depends on what happens during the game. .... We just talked about in games like this, normally Josh Heupel’s teams handle business. But I’m sure there was a plan to play Nico (Iamaleava) against Austin Peay in 2023, but we didn’t see much of him because the first team was playing with its food. So you don’t know.”
So if Brandon AND Tennessee’s offense play as expected, we should see plenty of MacIntyre in the second half.
But expect Brandon to play until Heupel is comfortable handing things over to MacIntyre.
UP NEXT FOR THE VOLS
Brent Key and Georgia Tech will try to bounce back vs Tennessee
Tennessee’s players can’t look past Furman this weekend.
But we can.
Tennessee’s Week 2 opponent Georgia Tech played on Thursday night.
The Yellow Jackets lost 14-13 at home to Colorado.
Georgia Tech allowed a late touchdown before rallying for a field goal attempt to win the game.
The kick was blocked… by former Tennessee DB Boo Carter.
After watching Colorado rush for 183 yards, Bishop and UT’s running backs should be excited for their trip to Atlanta.
One game doesn’t tell us what will happen next.
But the Vols will have a matchup advantage next week when they travel to Georgia Tech.
QUICK HITTERS
LB Jeremiah Telander will help lead Tennessee’s defense | via UT Athletics
🏈 Tennessee’s defensive leader
We’ll get our first look at the Vols’ defense under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles on Saturday.
One player who will start and play a key role: senior linebacker Jeremiah Telander.
How important is Telander to UT’s defense?
Knowles to the media this week:
“He’s certainly like the heart and soul of our defense, which I knew. But I found that he has some particular skills that we can really use to put him in great positions to make plays, and he’s really tough. So I think Telander showed a lot of versatility.”
🏈 Doing more for Dolly
We know Tennessee will honor the late Dolly Parton with a sticker on the back of every football helmet this season.
On Thursday, athletic director Danny White announced UT will play a Dolly song between the third and fourth quarters.
We don’t know which song it will be or for how many games it will play.
But the Vols are doing all they can to honor an icon.
🏈 LSU vs the SEC
Louisiana judge William Jorden ruled in favor of players seeking a fifth year of eligibility on Thursday night.
That would give former Ole Miss players Dae’Quan Wright and Xzavian Harris a chance to play for LSU — if they’re added to the team’s roster today.
Meanwhile, the SEC filed a lawsuit against LSU and coach Lane Kiffin on Thursday.
The SEC’s lawsuit alleges that Kiffin and LSU “waged a deliberate and coordinated campaign to recruit professional athletes to play football for LSU during the 2026-27 season, including players who had signed NFL contracts with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”
REPRESENTING TENNESSEE
From the field to the booth for Jayson Swain
You’ve probably heard by now that Jayson Swain is the Vol Network’s new football analyst.
Swain will replace former teammate Ramon Foster, who’s now the analyst for the Tennessee Titans.
Swain has spoken about the opportunity a bunch of our times on our show since the news was announced on July 30.
He spoke about it again for a cover story at UTSports.com this week.
One thing that has stood out listening to Swain talk about his new role: the respect he has for the position as he represents his alma mater.
From the story:
“It's an absolute honor to be able to represent guys who played before me, guys who played after me and guys who are currently playing. I feel like my role is being the voice for them. That was really my purpose of doing radio at the beginning."
The story from UT Sports includes Swain’s account of Mike Keith surprising him with the news live on our show.
Watch below to see how it went down — and tune in to hear Swain on the broadcast this weekend and all season.
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