Ruined by Achilles’ heels at crucial moments last season, this year the Vols have Nike on their side during a tough scheduling odyssey.
Story By Brooks Clark | Photography by Bruce McCamish & Carlos Reveiz
Appeared in Cityview Magazine, Vol. 42, Issue 5 (September/October 2026)
Tied 38-38 with Georgia with three seconds to go, kicker Max Gilbert missed a field goal, and the Vols lost in OT. Near the end of the first half against Alabama, UT was on the 1-yard line about to pull within two points, when Joey Aguilar inexplicably threw a pick six to put Bama up 22-7 on its way to a 37-20 smackdown. Against Vanderbilt, UT’s defense seemingly ate too many of Calypso’s lotus blossoms in a 45-24 humiliation. Then, in the final minutes of the Music City Bowl, after the Vols went up 28-27 on Illinois on a miraculous bobble-and-scoot 94-yard kickoff return by freshman receiver Joakim Dodson, UT’s defense seemed cursed again, as the Illini marched for a field goal and the 30-28 win.
So—with less trickery by the gods—an 8-5 season could have been 11-2. Or at least 10-3.
Head Coach Josh Heupel fired Defensive Coordinator Tim Banks and hired Jim Knowles, known for unleashing defenses worthy of Ares, especially the impenetrable Ohio State defense from 2022 to ’24 (including the 42-17 Vol stomping in the first round of the CFP) and Penn State in 2025. Knowles also coached at Duke for nine years under former Vols offensive coordinator (and Eli and Peyton Manning’s longtime quarterbacking guru) David Cutcliffe, so he must be a solid guy. He was a freshman defensive end at Cornell the fall after Earthadelic and Toddy’s Backdoor Tavern owner Steve Polte, a defensive back, graduated. “So we never overlapped,” says Polte. But, as the faithful know, Toddy’s is a home field for Dionysus, whose smile can bring good fortune to those he favors.
Knowles has just three returning starters—freshman All-America cornerback Ty Redmond and middle linebackers Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander (pronounced TEE-lander). In a refreshing comment about Carter’s two-game suspension by the NCAA, Heupel said, “That ruling, I truly believe, is bullshit.” Of Telander, Heupel said, “The person that he is every single day is exactly who you want as a son. He represents everything that is good about college athletics.”
Said Knowles, “The linebacker room is deep.” Linebacker Edwin Spillman had 81 tackles. Amare Campbell had 105 tackles for Penn State last year. He and safety DeJuan Lane and defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam also transferred from State College. “Destiny put us in the same spot,” said Gilliam, who Billy Tucker of espn.com ranked as No. 20 on his list of the 100 best newcomers to college football. “Gilliam emerged this spring with disruptiveness against the run and pass,” wrote Tucker. “He will help retool this thin group right away with his skills and knowledge of the scheme.” Gilliam is guiding redshirt junior defensive end Tyree Weathersby, who had 24 tackles last season, and edge rusher Jordan Norman, a transfer from Tulane.
No more hexes, no more heartbreak. This year, the mojo’s on Rocky Top’s side.
Before he tore his patellar tendon and was lost for the season, safety Edrees Farooq noted that Knowles runs “more of a safety-driven defense,” noting that many of his main players in previous defenses were the safeties. “He gets his safeties in a position to make plays,” said senior safety T.J. Metcalf, a Michigan transfer, who Farooq described as “a dog every single play.”
At quarterback is five-star 6’4”, 225-pound freshman Faizon Brandon from Greensboro, North Carolina, who Tucker of espn.com ranked as No. 22 on his list of the 100 best newcomers. “Brandon uses his solid, balanced base to play under control,” wrote Tucker. “He has the arm strength to make any throw and the accuracy to layer in balls where needed. While Brandon has plenty of arm talent, he’s also athletic and mobile enough to pressure defenses with his legs. Brandon is more advanced than Hendon Hooker at the same stage and more advanced as a passer than Joe Milton.” Brandon is backed up by 6’6”, 208-pound redshirt freshman George MacIntyre from Brentwood Academy in Franklin.
Hometown hero DeSean Bishop ran for 1,076 yards and 16 TDs last year. After starring at Karns High, he wasn’t offered a grant-in-aid by UT. So he walked on, proved his worth, and won his scholarship. There is experience on the offensive line—All-SEC senior guard Wendell Moe, center Sam Pendleton, and two Freshman All-Americans, left tackle David Sanders and tackle/guard Jesse Perry.
A corps of talented receivers includes Mike Matthews (53 catches, four TDs), SEC Freshman of the Year Braylon Staley (68 catches, six TDs), freshman TK Keys from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, sophomores Travis Smith Jr. and Radarious Jackson (nine catches), and the speedy Joakim Dodson. Freshman Tyreek King from Knox Catholic, says Heupel, “is extremely explosive and dynamic with the ball in his hands. He’s working on some punt return stuff too.” Redshirt junior Ethan Davis (21 receptions, two TDs) will start at tight end.
Placekicker Gilbert, tricked by the gods last season, transferred to Arkansas. He is replaced by Cooper Ranvier, who was 21-of-25 on field goals last year for Louisville and averaged 63.8 yards per kickoff. Perhaps he can enter the Texas game on September 26 dressed as a beggar and prevail against the giant Longhorns.
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