Tyler Lundblade’s Tennessee debut came with a familiar calling card: shooting.
After spending much of the offseason working back from a back injury, the sixth-year senior guard was in the starting lineup Tuesday night for Tennessee’s season-opener against Wofford at Food City Center. The transfer from Belmont gives the Vols a proven perimeter threat and a veteran voice in a group that is still sorting itself out early in the year.
Lundblade had surgery in September, and the setback kept him out for a large chunk of the offseason. According to VQ’s Mike Wilson, it was not viewed as a severe procedure. From there, his recovery moved step by step, from individual work to limited team drills and eventually to five-on-five action during preseason.
He was held out of Tennessee’s first two preseason games against Xavier and Duke, but he did get on the floor in a closed-door scrimmage against Davidson in late October. On3’s Chris Low said on The RTI Low-Down podcast that Lundblade made an immediate impact in that setting.
“They had a closed scrimmage against Davidson on Saturday (Oct. 24) and they got Tyler Lundblade back, the shooter from Belmont,” On3’s Chris Low said on The RTI Low-Down podcast. “And he made a big difference at the game.
I think he had 24 points in about 20-some minutes. Tennessee looks different with him on the floor.
The floor looks different, because you can’t leave him. He’s a shooter.”
Rick Barnes said Lundblade’s experience has stood out during the preseason, especially after the time he missed.
“Yeah,” Barnes said when asked if he likes what he’s seen from Lundblade on the court during the preseason. “But like anybody who misses that much, first of all, he did a phenomenal job keeping his conditioning up, especially with the back problem that he had.
He’s smart, he’s experienced. And that’s what he and Jalen (Washington) would bring us more than anything, just the fact that they’ve played college basketball.
They know what it’s about. And some of these guys are, obviously, the young guys haven’t, and some of these guys haven’t played at the level that we know that we’ve gotta play at.”
Lundblade’s track record at Belmont backs up the reputation. Last season, he averaged 15.6 points per game while shooting 43% from the field and 40.6% from three. He also added 2.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
The Dallas, TX, native is in his fourth season of college basketball overall. He began at SMU, spent two seasons at TCU, then played his redshirt-junior and redshirt-senior years at Belmont before arriving at Tennessee.
No. 8 Tennessee opened the season against Wofford at 6:00 p.m. ET in the Food City Center.
In Other News...
Tennessee Just Got More CFP Motivation Than Vols Fans Can Ignore
The first College Football Playoff rankings gave Tennessee plenty to chew on, slotting the Vols at No. 13 while Alabama landed at No. 5. For a fan base that just watched Tennessee beat Alabama, the placement was a jolt, even if CFP Committee Chair Hunter Yurachek pointed to the Crimson Tides stronger collection of quality wins as the reason for the gap.
For Tennessee, though, the more important part may be what comes next. The rankings are only the opening snapshot, and the Vols still have upcoming games that could reshape how the committee views them. If Tennessee keeps stacking wins, this early surprise could become the kind of November fuel that makes the rest of the race a lot more interesting. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Still Has One Big QB Decision Hanging Over Kentucky
Tennessee has spent the last three games leaning on George MacIntyre at quarterback after Faizon Brandon went down with an injury, and the Volunteers now head into the Kentucky game with at least some clarity and one lingering question. Josh Heupel still has not officially named a starter for Saturday, but the expectation is that MacIntyre will get the nod again as Tennessee tries to keep its offense steady in a stretch where continuity matters.
MacIntyres run has given the Vols a workable answer in the short term, even if the numbers show there is still room for the passing game to grow. He has thrown for 728 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions, while Brandon has been sidelined since the injury despite a stronger touchdown-to-interception ratio before he was hurt. For Tennessee, the choice is less about what has happened already than how Heupel wants to handle the position moving forward, and that decision still hangs over a game the Vols would like to treat as business as usual. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Playoff Edge Over Tennessee Has Fans Arguing One Thing
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season set off the conversation Tennessee fans expected, with Alabama landing at No. 5 and the Volunteers down at No. 13. Even with Tennessees head-to-head win over Alabama in hand, the committee put the Crimson Tide inside the bracket, leaning on Alabamas stronger overall rsum and a set of quality road wins to separate the two teams.
Hunter Yuracheks explanation only sharpened the debate, because it made clear the committee is not treating every head-to-head result as an automatic trump card. The rankings are built in smaller groups called pods, and head-to-head only carries extra weight when teams are compared within the same pod, leaving Tennessee supporters to wonder how much that win over Alabama really moved the needle. [Read more 🡒]