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🏈 Three Quick Tennessee Things

🏈 Three Quick Tennessee Things

Who should help Tennessee football in 2024

Josh Ward
December 22, 2023

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:

The good, bad, and questions remaining with Tennessee’s 2024 class
The Vols’ latest transfer additions — and WHY they matter
A BIG honor for Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes

THE VOLS CONTINUE TO BUILD FOR 2024

This week’s newsletter will be a little shorter thanks to travel and time constraints.

BUT we can’t skip out on some Tennessee thoughts with so much activity happening during the month of December.

This week’s newsletter will focus on Three Things from the week.

1️⃣ Tennessee’s 2024 signing class

The recruiting websites On3 and 247Sports both ranked Tennessee’s class No. 13 in the nation.

That’s eighth in the SEC, according to On3, and 247Sports ranks the Vols’ class seventh in the conference.

Recruiting in the SEC is at a different level, especially with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas.

As for Tennessee’s class…

➡️ The Good

Tennessee landed several impact players, including five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews, highly-touted edge rusher Jordan Ross, and do-it-all athlete Boo Carter.

Carter might be the most intriguing prospect in the class.

Will the standout from Chattanooga play offense or defense?

Carter is dynamic with the ball in his hands but could make plays on defense, too, and the Vols need help in the secondary.

Tennessee also landed one of the nation’s top offensive line classes on paper.

The Vols are in good shape for 2024 on the offensive line, but they’ll have to replace almost everyone the following year.

A good offensive line class was a MUST.

And Tennessee went out and landed one.

➡️ The Bad

It might be too early to say Tennessee’s ranking in the SEC is “bad,” but it’s not necessarily good, either.

The weakness of the class right now is on the interior of Tennessee’s defensive line.

Tennessee signed one defensive line prospect weighing 275+ pounds (Jeremias Heard) and he might end up moving to offense.

Georgia, which signed the nation’s top-ranked class, signed five defensive linemen at 275+ pounds.

Tennessee will be fine on the defensive line in 2024 thanks to the return of several seniors, but the future beyond next season is a question mark.

➡️ The Question Mark

Is Tennessee done with this signing class?

Five-star defensive lineman Dominick McKinley opted to not sign anywhere this week.

The former Texas A&M commit plans to visit Tennessee on Jan. 20.

He’s a key target for the Vols because of his talent and need for defensive linemen, as mentioned above.

Another five-star, Jordan Seaton, opted to not sign this week (at least as far as we know).

Could something happen there for Tennessee?

With Seaton, nothing can be ruled out.

There’s also the point of time when it comes to recruiting.

This week’s conversation is based on potential and projections.

The ranking of a class does not tell us what it will become in the future.

But past results do show recruiting at the highest level (see: Alabama and Georgia) will net big-time results.

This Tennessee class should be motivated to show it’s better than the expects say.

2️⃣ Transfer Tracker

The transfer portal offers new perspective when considering how a class looks.

Tennessee’s 2024 roster gets a boost with the return of several seniors, like center Cooper Mays, offensive tackles John Campbell Jr. and Gerald Mincey, and defensive linemen Bryson Eason, Omarr Norman-Lott, and Omari Thomas.

But Tennessee hit the transfer portal looking for help BEYOND 2024.

The Vols found that help this week.

Cornerback Jermod McCoy from Oregon State announced on Wednesday that he’ll transfer to Tennessee.

McCoy performed well as a freshman at Oregon State this fall and will compete for a starting spot in Tennessee’s secondary.

Then came news on Thursday night that Tulane wide receiver Chris Brazzell II is headed to Tennessee.

Brazzell had 711 receiving yards and five touchdowns as a redshirt freshman this fall.

Tennessee also landed tight end Holden Staes from Notre Dame and safety Jakobe Thomas from Middle Tennessee.

Are an of these players future All-SEC performers?

Time will tell.

But they all have multiple years of eligibility and should help Tennessee for multiple years.

Here’s a wild stat: As of this writing, Tennessee projects to have ONE high school signee from the 2021 class on next year’s roster.

That’s defensive back Christian Charles.

The 2021 group would be Tennessee’s rising senior class next year.

And for multiple reasons, it basically vanished.

That’s why landing impact transfers for next season and beyond was so important for Tennessee.

3️⃣ Rick Barnes: Hall of Fame Nominee

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes was announced Thursday as a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Barnes is in his 37th season as a head coach since he took over George Mason’s program in 1987.

He’s won 788 games, a number which will continue to grow, and reached the Final Four at Texas in 2003.

Barnes is also one of the nation’s most respected coaches among his peers.

Barnes said this about the nomination following Tennessee’s 65-46 win over Tarleton State on Thursday night:

“What it means is, you know, this is a team game, and I've been blessed. The good Lord has looked after me for a long, long time — even way back when I probably was growing and trying to figure out how to be a head basketball coach. But it's always been about the players. It’s always been about our staff. I've always tried to pride myself in hiring people that I thought was better than me. I think that when you're in a leadership position, you’ve got to be someone who's wanting to learn something every day. And the way you do that, you surround yourself with great people.

“And obviously, it's not just your coaches. It's everybody in the organization. And then my family. They've stuck with me. I mean, I think I've made, what, ten different moves over the years? But, again, I'm just thankful that the good Lord has blessed me in ways that I can't even imagine.

“But anytime you're involved in a team sport and you're singled out for something, it always goes back to it being a team sport, and it’s those that have helped you along the way and been there with you along the way. They’re as much a part of it as anybody.”

Barnes will keep his focus on this year’s Tennessee’s basketball team, which has a 9-3 record with one non-conference game against Norfolk State (Jan. 2) remaining before opening SEC play vs. Ole Miss on Jan. 6.

The Vols are ranked No. 6 in the nation, according to KenPom, and will enter SEC play favored to win the league.

Long way to go — weekly reminder — but Tennessee is in a position to add to Barnes’ Hall of Fame resume.

Add that to the list of things for Tennessee fans to pull for.

🎁 One Last Thing

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