Texas A&M gets Tennessee late, on November 14 in College Station, and the matchup comes with plenty for the Aggies to sort through. The Volunteers are trying to climb back toward the top of the SEC and return to the College Football Playoff after appearing in it in 2024, then following that with an 8-5 season in 2025.
That means Texas A&M will need a clear scouting report on a Tennessee roster that still has real punch on both sides of the ball. Here are five names Aggies fans should have on the radar before kickoff.
The biggest unknown for Tennessee is under center. The Vols head into fall camp without a settled starter, and the competition appears to be between true freshman Faizon Brandon and redshirt freshman George MacIntyre.
MacIntyre has a year in the system, but Brandon is the one drawing the most attention. He was one of the headliners in Tennessee’s 2026 recruiting class, arriving as a five-star quarterback and the No. 2 player at his position in the class per 247Sports.
At running back, Tennessee already knows what it has. Sophomore DeSean Bishop was one of the SEC’s most productive backs in 2025, finishing tied for second in rushing touchdowns and fourth in rushing yards and yards per carry. He piled up 182 carries for 1,076 yards, averaged 5.9 yards per attempt and scored 16 touchdowns, a total that was tied for sixth in the nation.
The Volunteers also have a major threat on the outside in Braylon Staley. Playing in the same offense as NFL wide receiver Chris Brazzell II, Staley led Tennessee in catches and finished second in the SEC in receptions.
He put up 68 catches for 837 yards, averaged 12.3 yards per catch and scored six touchdowns. That production placed him eighth in receiving yards and tied for tenth in touchdowns in the conference.
On defense, linebacker Arion Carter gives Tennessee a steady presence in the middle. He finished tied as the team’s third-leading tackler and led the defense in solo tackles. Carter’s season line included 76 total tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery and a forced fumble.
The interior of the defense gets another important piece with incoming transfer Xavier Gilliam. The defensive tackle is arriving in Knoxville after spending 2025 at Penn State, where he played under new Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. As a redshirt freshman in Knowles’ system, Gilliam recorded 15 tackles, two tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, one quarterback hurry and one forced fumble.
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One Former Vol Has Come To Define A Frustrating Heupel Debate
Josh Heupels recruiting track record at Tennessee has produced some real highs, but a look back at three of the most hyped high school arrivals from his era also shows why the discussion around development keeps coming back. Cameron Seldon arrived as a four-star RB/WR, moved on to Virginia Tech and then South Florida, while Jordan Ross came in as a five-star edge rusher and eventually transferred to LSU after a limited run in Knoxville.
The bigger conversation, though, keeps circling back to Nico Iamaleava, whose Tennessee tenure at least delivered a playoff berth but still left plenty of people wanting more from a former five-star quarterback. His production never quite matched the billing, and the fact that he is now at UCLA only sharpens the debate over how much of this is recruiting, how much is development and how much is simply the risk of chasing elite talent in a volatile sport. [Read more 🡒]
Outsiders Just Weighed In On Faizon Brandon And Vols Fans Will Debate It
The quarterback race in Knoxville is already one of the more watched competitions in the SEC, with true freshman Faizon Brandon joining second-year George MacIntyre and transfer Ryan Staub in Tennessees 2026 mix. Even before fall camp opens, the buzz around Brandon has been hard to miss, with plenty of observers expecting the highly touted newcomer to push for the job right away.
One of the latest outside takes came from SEC Mike, who slotted Brandon near the top tier of league quarterbacks in a preseason ranking that will surely give Vols fans something to argue about. Brandon landed behind the biggest names in the conference and ahead of a handful of other SEC passers, a placement that says as much about the hype around Tennessees young quarterback as it does about the uncertainty that still hangs over the position. [Read more 🡒]
One Former Vol Just Turned Up Tennessee's NBA Buzz
Former Tennessee players have already started making the NBA Summer League feel a little more orange this month, with several ex-Vols getting real run for San Antonio and others popping up on the schedule in the days ahead. Chaz Lanier has been the loudest name in that group, while JaKobi Gillespie and Igor Milicic Jr. have also been part of the Spurs lineup mix, giving Tennessee fans a chance to track a familiar pipeline in a setting where every possession is being watched closely.
Felix Okpara has also gotten into the action in what is still an early stretch of Summer League play, and the next wave of games should keep the Vols connection going. Lanier, Tyreke Key, Jaden Springer, Jahmai Mashack and Kennedy Chandler are all slated for upcoming appearances, which means Tennessees presence in Las Vegas is not just a one-night burst but a running subplot worth following as these former Vols try to carve out their next step. [Read more 🡒]