🏈 Tennessee's next Voice of the Vols

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 gets its guy to replace Bob Kesling as the Voice of the Vols

• The latest with Tennessee football and the transfer portal… and what UT still needs

• Tennessee Basketball lays an egg at Florida. But might it help UT?

• A proposal that could allow the power conferences to mess with a good thing

MIKE KEITH IS COMING HOME

The University of Tennessee announced big news on Thursday:

Mike Keith will be the next “Voice of the Vols.”

Keith will replace Bob Kesling, who announced in November that he’ll retire following the end of Tennessee’s basketball season.

As we often say in the world of recruiting, Keith is a big get for Tennessee.

He’s a UT alum and respected nationally for the play-by-play work he’s done with the Tennessee Titans.

Keith has strong ties to the Vol Network, where he worked for more than a decade before leaving to join the Titans.

And he has a strong connection to UT fans — many of them hoped that Keith would return to Knoxville.

For Keith, it’s a chance to finish his broadcasting career in his dream job.

“While it is very hard to say goodbye to the Tennessee Titans, it is not hard to say ‘yes’ to a return to the University of Tennessee and the Vol Network,” Keith said in a statement through UT.

Keith called the opportunity “otherworldly” in an interview with Brent Hubbs for Volquest.

Keith will handle play-by-play duties for both football and basketball with his analysts in each sport to be determined.

John Wilkerson, along with Vince Ferrara, will continue to handle the play-by-play for Tennessee baseball.

Keith, who once worked with Wilkerson both on SportsTalk and Tennessee baseball broadcasts, made it clear he didn’t want to mess with Tennessee’s baseball setup.

“John Wilkerson is Vol baseball,“ Keith told Volquest. “Nothing changes. I mean, he’s the best. And so, there’s no way that I get in his way in any way, shape or form.”

That leaves Keith to lead football and men’s basketball, Wilkerson to lead baseball, and Brian Rice to lead Lady Vols basketball and softball.

The Vol Network ranks near the top of the very best college (or pro) broadcast organizations in the country.

That will continue with Thursday’s news.

It was another day for many Tennessee fans to celebrate.

TENNESSEE’S QUEST FOR PORTAL HELP

The NCAA transfer portal has been somewhat quiet for Tennessee since the end of the season.

A good number of Tennessee players have departed — mostly backups — but so far only two players have announced they’ll transfer to UT.

The two players coming in so far:

◼️ OL Wendell Moe Jr. from Arizona
◼️ WR Amari Jefferson from Alabama

Jefferson announced his transfer earlier this week after signing with Alabama a year ago.

Jefferson, who didn’t play as a freshman, was a four-star prospect from Baylor School in Chattanooga who chose Alabama over Tennessee.

Tennessee’s staff coveted Jefferson a year ago and now have him coming to campus.

Will he make an immediate impact?

That’s difficult to answer; his first college snap will be with the Vols.

But he’s a talented player at a position of need.

The best news of the week for UT’s staff came from Mike Matthews.

Tennessee’s freshman receiver decided NOT to enter the transfer portal.

He’ll return for his sophomore season — with Tennessee and Matthews hoping he breaks out and shows the five-star potential from when he signed.

So what’s next?

Tennessee needs more help.

While most of the outgoing transfers were backups in 2024, several of them provided valuable depth.

A lot of that will be replaced by young, inexperienced players or freshman who will join the 2025 roster.

Tennessee will also look to add a few more players in the portal, either soon during the winter window or later in the spring.

Needs include:

• Wide Receiver
• Running Back
• Defensive Line
• Offensive Line

Tennessee has hosted Southern Cal offensive guard transfer Emmanuel Pregnon to end the week.

The Vols will likely battle Oregon and Texas for Pregnon, who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors this season.

Tennessee hasn’t made the biggest splash in the portal so far.

But things could be worse.

Matthews or Boo Carter could have left, for example.

But they decided to stay, as did quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Now Tennessee needs to find more help to rebuild for 2025.

➡️ We discussed Tennessee’s transfer portal and recruiting efforts with Austin Price of Volquest this week. Check out our conversation below or anywhere you get your podcasts.

SPORTS NUGGETS

🏈 This story from Brent Hubbs explains why Mike Keith has been successful everywhere he’s been.

🏈 Georgia QB Carson Beck has entered the NCAA transfer portal and appears likely to play at another school next year rather than enter the NFL draft.

🏈 Here’s a look at how the next stage of the NIL Era might look as schools begin to pay college athletes.

🏈 Here’s a guide to the NFL wild-card round as the postseason kicks off on Saturday.

🏀 Check out our conversation with The Athletic’s CJ Moore, who explains why Tennessee is a national contender (and how competitive the title race will be).

🏀 Here is a tiered list of national title contenders from CBS Sports.

⚾ D1Baseball looks at the best college baseball team of the last 10 years… and two Tennessee teams receive a mention.

🏌️‍♂️ Have you heard about the TGL from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy?

ROCKY ROAD GAME FOR TENNESSEE

Tuesday night could have gone better for Tennessee’s basketball team. 

Understatement of the week.

Really, it was awful. 

Florida beat Tennessee 73-43, which will end the Vols’ five-week run as the nation’s No. 1 ranked team.

Nobody played well for Tennessee on Tuesday… at least on the offensive end. 

Here’s the good news: it was only one game. 

Rick Barnes explained after the loss how it could actually help the Vols. 

Barnes also said that Tennessee’s effort and defense still showed up against Florida.

And he’s right.

As bad as the Vols’ offense was in Gainesville, UT still help Florida to less than 40-percent shooting from the field.

Florida has the nation’s No. 4 offense; that’s no small feat from Tennessee’s defense. 

It’s the offense that creates the concern. 

Can Tennessee find ways to score around the basket when outside shots aren’t falling?

Can Tennessee create more opportunities in transition?

Can the Vols’ thin rotation stay healthy through SEC play?

And how will the Vols respond as they turn around and play another big road game?

Tennessee will play at Texas on Saturday night. 

📍 Austin, Texas
⏰ 6:00 p.m. ET
📺 ESPN
📻 99.1 The Sports Animal/WIVK

The Longhorns are desperate; they’re 0-2 to start SEC play and know beating Tennessee would provide a big lift. 

A Tennessee win would help ease the sting of the loss at Florida.

But another loss?

It would put UT behind in the SEC title race and create more questions about the rest of the season. 

Weekly reminder: it’s early!

But this is a big game on Saturday. 

And it should be fun.

➡️ We talked to CJ Moore of The Athletic this week about Tennessee and the depth of the SEC.

FYI — The conversation took place after UT’s blowout win over Arkansas but before the loss at Florida. Check it out below.

DON’T MESS WITH MARCH MADNESS

Do you know anyone who dislikes the format of the NCAA basketball tournament?

Neither do I.

So naturally, leaders of the power conferences might have interest in changing it. 

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports published a story this week after looking over a document from the power four conferences. 

From Dellenger’s story:

Every reasonable person will agree the NCAA has its flaws.

But the operation of postseason events has been a strength of the NCAA.

Reminder: this does not include football. 

The NCAA does not run the College Football Playoff, perhaps the most flawed postseason format in college sports.

So why would the power conferences want more control over postseason events?

The NCAA tournament brings in a ton of cash — nearly $1 billion each year.

It would make sense that power conferences would like to get their hands on more of that money.

More from Dellenger:

It’s true that most people prefer seeing the big-boy programs compete for the title once the tournament reaches the last few rounds. 

But the mid-major stories play a big role in the fun of March Madness. 

And the funds that go to lower level schools are vital for funding their athletic departments.

It’s a system that’s worked beautifully for decades. 

Surely Greg Sankey and the power conference commissioners won’t mess with a good thing. 

Right? 

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