Randy Smith
When the first week of June rolls around each year, you can count on a few things to happen. The weather begins to get warmer, you see posts like this on Facebook, " It was the third of June. If ya' know, ya'know," referring to the song, " Ode to Billy Joe " by Bobbie Gentry, Fathers' Day is coming up as well as a slew of birthdays in our family, including mine. Oh by the way, the Athlon college football preview magazines are out. I was at the drugstore on Sunday and saw one.
My mood warmed as I saw the pictures of several SEC stars on the cover. including Chattanooga's Boo Carter. When the Athlons come out it marks the official beginning of college football for me.
The start of the regular season is still almost 2 1/2 months away, but when summer arrives you can actually start discussing with your friends how you think your favorite team is going to do. Even though it's been 24 years since I left the Vol Radio Network, folks still think I have some inside info on Tennessee football. I don't but I still try to keep up with what's going on as much as a retired sports journalist/broadcaster can. After reading the first several pages, it appears that Athlons is not expecting much from the Volunteers this fall.
Tennessee is 21st in the national pre-season rankings and picked to finish tenth out of sixteen teams in the SEC. Of course Texas is on top of both. The Volunteers sudden demise can be attributed to the ugly transfer of quarterback Nico Iamaleava to UCLA. Coach Josh Heupel has a good group of quarterbacks including Appalachian State and UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar as well as freshmen Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre, both four star recruits. Nico's departure was ugly because his father instigated a plan to get more than the $2 million plus NIL deal his son had with Tennessee. Coach Heupel would have none of that, so he sent Nico packing to California and his deal with the Bruins was less than he made at Tennessee.
I feel Athlons is underestimating the Vols' quarterback situation. It has Tennessee ranked fifteenth of the sixteen teams in the SEC. Aguilar is a talented passer who threw 56 TD passes at Appalachian State and even though Nico led his team to the College Football Playoffs last season, I don't think quarterback will be that much of a problem. The Volunteers also need to settle on a couple of running backs as well as replace all but one starter on the offensive line. I doubt Tennessee will make the playoffs again in 2025 but they could win at least eight or nine games and still go to a decent bowl game. It's 92 days until the Big Orange opens at Syracuse on August 30th!
* * *
Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com