Four key questions for Tennessee entering the season

Week 0 has arrived, meaning Tennessee hits the field for real at Neyland Stadium in just one week. The Volunteers will kickoff the Faizon Brandon era against Furman in a tune up game before things start to get real in two weeks down in Atlanta. Tennessee is a sleeper team according to most, taking a backseat to teams like Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss.

Can the Volunteers force their way into the SEC picture and perhaps make a run at the College Football Playoff? If that’s in the cards, they’ll have to find answers to these four questions.

How much upside does Faizon Brandon give Tennessee in 2026?

The 5-star freshman ran away with the job in fall camp, now it’s time to see just how good he can be right off the bat. There’s no doubt about his long-term upside under Josh Heupel, but what about the right now? Brandon was praised for making plays down the field in scrimmages, and his athleticism will bring a new element to the RPO and maybe even option game.

“I think in all, his control, command of what we’re doing offensively, that’s in run game, the RPO game, the drop back, play action,” Josh Heupel said. “Combine that with fundamentals, technique, pocket awareness, you put all those things together, decision-making, taking care of the football while still allowing his playmakers to make plays down the field. You look at the total volume of work and he’s earned the right start.”

It’s going to come down to the little things though. The right checks, the right reads, getting through those reads quickly enough and keeping the offensive tempo when Heupel wants to operate with pace. Brandon is sure to make some freshman mistakes, that just comes with the territory. Can he make enough big plays down the field to keep defenses honest and the focus off of DeSean Bishop and the ground game? That’s the key to me.

What does Rodney Garner get out of his defensive front?

Tennessee’s defensive line room has completely transformed in the past couple of seasons after having a bunch of veterans exit the program. It’s going to be a new look for Garner’s group in 2026, with no more Eason, Moi, Bailey or Josephs to lean on. The torch is being passed to guys like Xavier Gilliam, Nathan Robinson, Tyree Weathersby, Isaiah Campbell, Ethan Utley and several more. Veteran Daevin Hobbs is expected to lead the group and needs to take a big jump.

Garner was less than impressed during the middle portions of camp, however.

“Even just coming out of yesterday, just been very inconsistent,” Garner said earlier this month. “You’ve got a good day. You’ve got a bad day. Obviously you’re not moving the needle when you’re going up and down. Can’t have those rollercoaster moments, and like I told them this morning in the meeting, we’ve got to be climbing that mountain every day. We can’t take steps backwards.

“Nobody’s got time to hear it, nobody wants to hear it about being young, who all you lost, all that. That’s irrelevant. We’ve got to be moving that needle every single day that we go out there on that field.”

To be fair, Garner is never pleased, but still. This group is a big question for me heading into the season. Tennessee has to find a pass rusher and proven options at LEO consist exactly of one person in Jordan Norman. Development over the summer and this last month of camp should have built out some depth, but it remains to see what that looks like on gameday.

Tennessee has some names on the interior, but need the guys like Hobbs, Robinson, Gilliam and Robinson to really step up and become difference makers. We’ll get a good gauge on this group against a Georgia Tech team that will be wanting to run the football on September 12.

How much of an immediate difference will Jim Knowles make?

Tennessee’s defense was just flat out bad last season and it ended up costing the Volunteers a shot at the College Football Playoff. Tim Banks dealt with injuries, sure, but it just didn’t seem like any adjustments were made throughout the season to try and make that unit any better. As a result, Banks was fired, and here comes veteran defensive signal caller Jim Knowles.

Knowles completely remade the Tennessee secondary over the offseason and added a few guys (Xavier Gilliam, Dejaun Lane, Amaree Campbell) that know his system. Knowles has been notorious for slow starts with new programs, which he’s trying to remedy in Knoxville. Co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Anthony Poindexter coming with him from Penn State could help speed things along.

Tennessee ranked 14th in total defense in the SEC giving up nearly 400 yards per game a season ago. If the Vols can just be middle of the road this season, they’ll have a chance to make some noise.

Can the passing game find explosive plays without Chris Brazzell?

Easily the biggest question on the offensive side of the ball that remains is at the No. 3 receiver spot. Mike Matthews on the outside and Braylon Staley in the slot are set, but Radarious Jackson, TK Keys and Travis Smith have all been battling for that final starting spot on the outside.

We saw the passing game, which frankly took two seasons off from attacking down the field, snap right back to normalcy with Joey Aguilar and Chris Brazzell last season. Can Brandon find his Brazzell this season? Could it be Mike Matthews? Certainly it could, and Matthews has generated plenty of buzz in camp.

Or could it eventually be Keys? The 5-star receiver was limited back in the spring as he recovered from an injury, but the flashes have been there in camp. Heupel really hasn’t trusted a freshman receiver from day one in this offense, but he also hasn’t brought one in to the caliber of Keys either. Jackson and Smith both have a year’s worth of experience in the offense, and either one could get the day-one nod to start.

That explosive element though? That would seem to fall on Keys. It seems like a matter of time before the job is his.

Tennessee will begin answering these questions next weekend, taking on Furman on September 5.