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Draft Scout College Football Player News: Tennessee

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09/10/24 - Cooper Mays, rSr/2025, Tennessee + More +

WEEK 2 SEC CO-OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK: Cooper Mays, C, Sr.,...Mays, a preseason All-American and first-team All-SEC selection, anchored the offensive line for Tennessee in their 51-10 win over No. 24 NC State in Charlotte. Mays did not allow a sack, penalty, or quarterback hit, extending his streak of not allowing a sack to 16 straight games dating back to 2022. His blocking helped Tennessee rush for 249 yards, the most allowed by NC State in a regular-season game since North Carolina's 300 yards in November 2021. The Volunteers' 460 total yards were also the most NC State had allowed since Louisiana Tech's 480 yards in October 2021. - SEC Football

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C Cooper Mays, Tennessee
News Source: SEC Football
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09/10/24 - Nico Iamaleava, rFr/2028, Tennessee + More +

WEEK 2 SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Nico Iamaleava, QB, Fr.,...Iamaleava, in his third career start, led Tennessee to a 51-10 win over No. 24 NC State by accounting for 276 total yards of offense and three touchdowns. He completed 16-of-23 passes for 211 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and added 65 rushing yards on eight carries, including a 31-yard touchdown run. This was Iamaleava's second win over a ranked opponent in three starts and the second time in his career that he both rushed for and passed for a touchdown in the same game. - SEC Football

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QB Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee
News Source: SEC Football
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09/03/24 - Nico Iamaleava, rFr/2028, Tennessee + More +

WEEK 1 SEC CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: Nico Iamaleava, QB, RS-Fr.,...Iamaleava, making his second career start and first in Neyland Stadium, set a Tennessee school record for passing yards in a half (314) to lead the No. 15 Vols to a 69-3 season-opening victory over Chattanooga. He only played the first half and finished 22-of-28 for 314 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. The first-half passing yards broke the previous record of 313 set by Tyler Bray in the first half vs. Troy on Nov. 3, 2012. Nico's performance was the fourth 300-yard passing total in a half in Tennessee history. Iamaleava opened the game 10-of-10 for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Iamaleava was the first UT freshman - redshirt or true - to start at quarterback in a season opener since true freshman Brent Schaeffer did vs. UNLV on Sept. 5, 2004. His 78.6 completion percentage was the sixth-best in the country for Week 1 and the best by any freshman in the nation. - SEC Football

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QB Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee
News Source: SEC Football
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08/31/24 - Nico Iamaleava, rFr/2028, Tennessee + More +

Nico Iamaleava threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns - all in the first half - in his first regular-season start to lead the 15th-ranked Volunteers to a 69-3 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday. Dylan Sampson rushed for 124 yards and three scores in the first half as the Volunteers had an easy opener against an in-state FCS foe. Chattanooga, ranked eighth in the FCS preseason poll, didn't cross into Tennessee territory until its first drive of the second half. Tennessee dominated both sides of the ball in the first half and built a 45-0 lead. The Vols put up 490 yards of total offense and the Mocs didn't get past their own 47. - AP College Football

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QB Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee
News Source: AP College Football
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02/12/23 - Keenan Pili, rSr/2025, Tennessee + More +

Tennessee's third spring football practice of the Josh Heupel era should be the most appealing one yet for defensive coordinator Tim Banks, who was having to play catch-up with Heupel and all the other assistants two years ago and had to work last spring with a secondary ravaged by injury. "It's exciting," Banks said this week in a news conference. "We just didn't have a bunch of guys in the back end last year, and they were beat up in the fall for the most part before camp started, so knowing that a lot of those guys will be able to participate is obviously a good thing because you invest. We talk about compound interest a lot, and obviously the more reps they can get, the better it is for them and the program. "Do we have everybody ready to go? We don't know, but at this point it seems on paper that we'll have our lion's share of guys who will be able to contribute this spring."

Tennessee had one of the biggest defensive meltdowns in program history last Nov. 19, traveling to South Carolina with the chance of continuing its College Football Playoff hopes only to get humiliated 63-38, surrendering 606 yards and 35 first downs. The Volunteers responded, however, by smothering Vanderbilt 56-0 in Nashville and then thumping Clemson 31-14 in the Orange Bowl to complete an 11-2 season. Edge rusher Byron Young and linebacker Jeremy Banks are among the seven Tennessee players who soon will be heading to Indianapolis for the NFL combine, but the cupboard isn't bare for the defense, which also has three newcomers via the transfer portal. The arrivals have occurred at each level - defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott from Arizona State, linebacker Keenan Pili from Brigham Young University and cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally also from BYU. - Chattanooga Times Free Press

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ILB Keenan Pili, Tennessee
News Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press
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02/07/23 - Joe Milton III, rSr/2024, Tennessee + More +

College football fans who believe NIL deals and the transfer portal will be the ruination of their sport should love Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton. Never mind that he's a transfer himself. Milton has become the poster player for a more traditional era of college football. He won't be remembered as the quarterback who left Michigan after losing his starting job. He will be remembered as the quarterback who stayed at Tennessee after losing his starting job. This isn't just a Tennessee story. It's a national one.

College quarterbacks who lose their starting jobs are supposed to race toward the portal as if their career were about to go up in flames. But Milton stood his ground after losing his starting job to Hendon Hooker two games into the 2021 season. Instead of fleeing the scene, he became a close friend to the man who beat him out, and a team leader on a top-10 team. Then, when his friend went down to injury in the second-to-last game of the 2022 season, Milton quarterbacked the Vols to a 56-0 victory over Vanderbilt, and a 31-14 victory over top-10 Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Milton is known for a strong arm. But his strength of character has become just as apparent. - Knoxville News Sentinel

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QB Joe Milton III, Tennessee
News Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
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01/24/23 - Bru McCoy, rSr/2025, Tennessee + More +

Tennessee gave coach Josh Heupel a big raise that puts him among the highest-paid coaches in college football after he led the Volunteers to their best season in more than 20 years. Heupel will make $9 million per year through the 2028 football season under the contract extension announced by the school Tuesday and signed Jan. 19. That's an increase from the $5 million extension signed last July that pushed his deal through 2027. Athletic director Danny White said Heupel's results speak for themselves with an 18-8 record, including 11-2 last season, capped by a win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

White said Heupel and his staff have energized the program and fans with his aggressive style of football. "We just needed an innovative leader like Josh Heupel to reignite the spark," White said of program that dealt with what he called a brief period of dormancy. "It’s been fun to crash the party, but as Josh said after our Orange Bowl triumph, the best is yet to come." The Vols have beaten seven Top 25 teams since Heupel was hired in January 2021, which ranks third nationally among FBS head coaches in that span. Tennessee went 3-7 in 2020 before Heupel was hired to replace Jeremy Pruitt. Tennessee finished Heupel's second season ranked sixth by The Associated Press college football poll, the Vols' highest finish since 2001. The pay increase features a $225,000 base salary with $8.725 million in supplemental pay. - AP College Football

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WR Bru McCoy, Tennessee
News Source: AP College Football
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01/23/23 - Joe Milton III, rSr/2024, Tennessee + More +

Tennessee football quarterback Joe Milton is among the early betting favorites for the 2023 Heisman Trophy. Milton is among a group tied for the sixth-best odds at +2000 to win the trophy for the most outstanding player in college football. USC's Caleb Williams, the 2022 winner, is the betting favorite at +380 and leads a horde of Pac-12 quarterbacks near the top. Milton sits at +2000 alongside LSU QB Jayden Daniels, Notre Dame transfer QB Sam Hartman, Texas QB Quinn Ewers, Ohio State QB Kyle McCord and Clemson QB Cade Klubnik.

Milton won his two starts, at Vanderbilt and against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, in 2022 after replacing the injured Hendon Hooker. Milton earned Orange Bowl MVP honors after passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Tigers on Dec. 30. Milton, though, isn't the locked-in starter in 2023 just yet. 5-star freshman Nico Iamaleava enrolled early and will be competing for time in spring practice. - Knoxville News Sentinel

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QB Joe Milton III, Tennessee
News Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
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01/22/23 - Gabe Jeudy-Lally, rSr/2024, Tennessee + More +

The winter window for the NCAA transfer portal may have closed Wednesday, but that doesn't stop players from making commitments. Cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally, who spent three years at Vanderbilt before playing this past season at Brigham Young University, committed Thursday to Tennessee. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder entered the transfer portal on Dec. 28, having collected four tackles 11 days earlier in BYU's 24-23 topping of SMU in the New Mexico Bowl to cap an 8-5 season.

Jeudy-Lally will arrive in Knoxville with 23 career starts, including 10 this past season for the Cougars and 10 with Vanderbilt in 2021. He played in four games as a freshman in 2019, allowing him to redshirt that year, so Jeudy-Lally will have two seasons of eligibility with the Volunteers should he decide to use the pandemic-related extra year the NCAA implemented in 2020. - Chattanooga Times Free Press

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CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally, Tennessee
News Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press
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01/12/23 - Donte Thornton Jr., Sr/2025, Tennessee + More +

Tennessee's revolving door at receiver finally contains someone walking into the program. Dont'e Thornton, a former top-100 national prospect who spent the past two seasons at Oregon, announced Monday afternoon via social media that he would be continuing his college career with the Volunteers.

Thornton amassed 17 catches for 366 yards and a touchdown this past season for the Ducks, averaging a robust 21.5 yards per reception. He was the nation's No. 57 recruit in the 2021 signing cycle, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings and had nine catches for 175 yards and two scores as a freshman. He entered the portal in late November and will have two seasons of eligibility with the Vols. - Chattanooga Times Free Press

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WR Donte Thornton Jr., Tennessee
News Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press
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01/11/23 - Donte Thornton Jr., Sr/2025, Tennessee + More +

A second former Oregon player is continuing his career in the SEC. Former Ducks receiver Dont'e Thornton, who entered the transfer portal last month, announced his commitment to Tennessee on Monday. The 6-foot-5, 199-pound Thornton, who had 17 receptions for 366 yards and a touchdown and two carries for six yards this season, has two years of eligibility remaining. As a true freshman he had nine catches for 175 yards and two touchdowns. A four-star prospect out of Baltimore, Thornton was ranked No. 57 overall and No. 7 among receivers in the 2021 recruiting class. - The Oregonian

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WR Donte Thornton Jr., Tennessee
News Source: The Oregonian
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01/05/23 - Jacob Warren, rSr/2024, Tennessee + More +

Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren will return for a sixth year, he announced Wednesday. It's a big boost for the Vols, who lost half of their tight end tandem. Princeton Fant used all of his eligibility, but Warren still had one year remaining. Warren, a former Farragut standout, had 12 catches for 163 yards this season for No. 6 Tennessee, which finished with an 11-2 record and an Orange Bowl win over Clemson.

The 2023 season will be Warren's sixth and final year with the Vols. He has played 41 games in his career, which included a 2018 redshirt and a 2020 COVID-exempt year. Tennessee had a gaping hole at tight end for the 2023 season. Warren will help fill part of it. The Vols also added UC-Davis tight end McCallan Castles from the transfer portal. Castles, a 6-foot-5, 233-pounder, was an FCS All-American and All-Big Sky first-team selection. - Knoxville News Sentinel

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TE Jacob Warren, Tennessee
News Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
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12/31/22 - Joe Milton III, rSr/2024, Tennessee + More +

Joe Milton completed 19 of 28 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 6 Tennessee finished off its best season in more than two decades by topping No. 10 Clemson 31-14 in the Orange Bowl on Friday night. Squirrel White, Bru McCoy and Ramel Keyton had the scoring catches for the Volunteers (11-2), who matched their best record since 2001. Jaylen Wright rushed for 89 yards and Jabari Small had a touchdown run for Tennessee. Cade Klubnik, making his first start for Clemson, completed 30 of 54 passes for 320 yards with two interceptions. But Clemson (11-3) just kept coming up empty on chances; the Tigers got into Tennessee territory on nine of their first 10 possessions - and turned those trips into only two field goals. Klubnik ran in from 4 yards out to get Clemson within 21-14 with 10:01 left, but Milton connected with Keyton for a 46-yard score on the next Tennessee possession. The Volunteers intercepted Klubnik on a desperation fourth-down heave about a minute later and the celebration wasn't on yet - but looming.

Workers began setting up the postgame stage, including the customary oranges that the winning team gets to toss during the trophy ceremony. And in this very orange Orange Bowl - both teams have it as their primary color - it was the Tennessee hue that was superior. Milton, the Orange Bowl MVP, opened the scoring with a 16-yard pass to McCoy late in the first, and Small's 2-yard rush pushed the lead to 14-0 with 9:03 left in the half. The nation's most prolific offense wasn't at its best Friday night - Tennessee led the nation this year in yards and points per game - but it didn't have to be, either. Clemson got the ball seven times in the first half, getting inside Tennessee territory all seven times and getting to the Vols 25 or better on four occasions. And somehow, that only added up to three points. - Tennessee/AP College Football

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QB Joe Milton III, Tennessee
News Source: Tennessee/AP College Football
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12/21/22 - Andrej Karic, rSr/2025, Tennessee + More +

Tennessee football landed Texas transfer Andrej Karic to help fill an immediate need at right tackle. Karic, a 6-foot-5, 306-pounder, played 26 games with two starts over three seasons for the Longhorns. This season his playing time dropped, and he entered the transfer portal. Due to a COVID-exempt year and redshirt year, he still has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Karic will join junior college transfer Larry Johnson in building depth at right tackle with starter Darnell Wright heading to the NFL Draft. Starting left tackle Gerald Mincey, Dayne Davis and Jeremiah Crawford are the other tackles returning next season. Karic, from Carroll, Texas, was rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports Composite in the 2020 signing class. - Knoxville News Sentinel

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OG Andrej Karic, Tennessee
News Source: Knoxville News Sentinel
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12/18/22 - Darnell Wright, Sr/2023, Tennessee + More +

Tennessee football offensive lineman Darnell Wright has declared for the 2023 NFL Draft but plans to play in the Orange Bowl. Wright, who has one season of eligibility remaining, has been a staple of the Tennessee offensive line the last two seasons, starting 25 games. Wright won SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week awards twice this season and was named to the All-SEC First Team. Wright called the 2022 season an unforgettable ride in his statement on Twitter. "It's been an honor to be a Tennessee Volunteer for four years, and I have no regrets," Wright wrote. "This place and my teammates have given me so much. Therefore, I can't wait to take the field again one more time in the Orange and White in the Orange Bowl on December 30." No. 6 Tennessee (10-2) will play No. 7 Clemson (11-2) in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The bowl will be Wright's 42nd start for the Vols. - Knoxville News Sentinel

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