2018 Tennessee Volunteers football team

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2018 Tennessee Volunteers football
Tennessee Volunteers logo.svg
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
2018 record5–7 (2–6 SEC)
Head coach
  • Jeremy Pruitt (1st season)
Offensive coordinatorTyson Helton (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorKevin Sherrer (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinatorChris Rumph (1st season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumNeyland Stadium
(Capacity: 102,455)
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No.Georgia x   7 1     11 3  
No. 12 Kentucky   5 3     10 3  
No.Florida   5 3     10 3  
South Carolina   4 4     7 6  
Missouri   4 4     8 5  
Vanderbilt   3 5     6 7  
Tennessee   2 6     5 7  
West Division
No. 2 Alabama x$^   8 0     14 1  
No. 16 Texas A&M   5 3     9 4  
No. 6 LSU   5 3     10 3  
Auburn   3 5     8 5  
Ole Miss   1 7     5 7  
Arkansas   0 8     2 10  
Mississippi State*   0 4     0 5  
Championship: Alabama 35, Georgia 28
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * Mississippi State vacated four conference and eight total wins due to NCAA violations.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt.[2] They finished the season 5–7, 2–6 in SEC play to finish in last place in the Eastern Division.

Previous season[]

The team finished the season 4–8, 0–8 in SEC play in last place in the Eastern Division and the SEC. They were also the first Tennessee team in program history to lose eight games in a season, as well as the first to not win an SEC game since becoming a charter member of the conference in 1932.[3] They were led by fifth-year head coach Butch Jones until his firing on November 12.[4] Brady Hoke was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[5]

Preseason[]

  1. Numbered list item

2018 recruiting class[]

Award watch lists[]

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
Chuck Bednarik Award[6] Nigel Warrior S JR
Outland Trophy[7] Trey Smith OL SO
Wuerffel Trophy[8] Kyle Phillips DL SR
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award[9] Keller Chryst QB GS

SEC media poll[]

The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018 with the Volunteers predicted to finish in sixth place in the East Division.

Media poll (East)
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Georgia 1,977 (271)
2 South Carolina 1,535 (8)
3 Florida 1,441 (2)
4 Missouri 1,057
5 Kentucky 874 (1)
6 Tennessee 704 (1)
7 Vanderbilt 392

Preseason All-SEC teams[]

The Volunteers had one player selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.

Schedule[]

Tennessee announced its 2018 football schedule on September 19, 2017. The 2018 schedule consisted of 7 home games,[10] 4 away, and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Volunteers hosted SEC foes Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, and Missouri, and traveled to Georgia, Auburn, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt.[11]

The Volunteers hosted three of its four non–conference games which were against ETSU from the Southern Conference, UTEP and Charlotte, both of whom competed in the Conference USA. They traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Belk Kickoff against West Virginia from the Big 12 Conference.

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 13:30 p.m.vs. No. 17 West Virginia*
  • Bank of America Stadium
  • Charlotte, NC (Belk Kickoff Game / SEC Nation)
CBSL 14–4066,793
September 84:00 p.m.East Tennessee State*
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
SECNW 59–396,464
September 1512:00 p.m.UTEP*
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
SECNW 24–087,074
September 227:00 p.m.Florida
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
ESPNL 21–47100,027
September 293:30 p.m.at No. 2 Georgia
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA (rivalry)
CBSL 12–3892,246
October 1312:00 p.m.at No. 21 AuburnSECNW 30–2484,589
October 203:30 p.m.No. 1 Alabama
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October / SEC Nation)
CBSL 21–5897,087
October 277:30 p.m.at South Carolina
  • Williams-Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
SECNL 24–2780,614
November 34:00 p.m.Charlotte*
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
SECNW 14–386,753
November 103:30 p.m.No. 12 Kentucky
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
SECNW 24–795,258
November 173:30 p.m.Missouri
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
CBSL 17–5088,224
November 244:00 p.m.at Vanderbilt
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN (rivalry)
SECNL 13–3835,887
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time
Schedule Source:[12]

Personnel[]

Roster and staff[]

2018 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 1 Marquez Callaway Jr
QB 2 Jarrett Guarantano Redshirt.svg So
RB 3 Ty Chandler So
WR 5 Josh Palmer So
WR 7 Brandon Johnson Jr
WR 8 Latrell Williams Redshirt.svg So
RB 9 Tim Jordan So
WR 10 Tyler Byrd Jr
WR 11 Jordan Murphy So
QB 12 JT Shrout So
WR 13 Richard Mize Jr. So
QB 14 Zac Jancek Redshirt.svg Jr
WR 15 Jauan Jennings Redshirt.svg Jr
QB 17 Will McBride So
RB 18 Princeton Fant Redshirt.svg Fr
QB 19 Keller Chryst Redshirt.svg Sr
WR 21 Jacquez Jones Redshirt.svg Jr
RB 24 Trey Coleman So
WR 26 Jay Shoop Redshirt.svg Fr
RB 28 James Christian Redshirt.svg So
RB 29 Jeremiah Howard Redshirt.svg So
RB 31 Madre London Redshirt.svg Sr
RB 33 Jeremy Banks Fr
WR 34 Malik Elion Redshirt.svg Sr
RB 35 Ramsey Hailey So
RB 36 Tanner Dobrucky Redshirt.svg Fr
WR 38 Grant Frerking Redshirt.svg Fr
WR 38 Brent McPherson Jr
RB 42 Chip Omer Redshirt.svg So
TE/RB 48 Ja'Quain Blakely Redshirt.svg So
OL 50 Joey Cave Redshirt.svg So
OL 51 Drew Richmond Redshirt.svg Jr
OL 56 Riley Locklear So
OL 57 Nathan Niehaus Redshirt.svg So
OL 58 Brandon Kennedy Injured Redshirt.svg Jr
OL 60 Michael Raymond Jr
OL 66 Jarious Abercrombie Fr
OL 67 Joe Keeler Redshirt.svg Jr
OL 68 Marcus Tatum Redshirt.svg So
OL 69 Brian Garvey So
OL 70 Ryan Johnson Redshirt.svg So
OL 71 Tanner Antonutti Fr
OL 72 Jahmir Johnson Redshirt.svg So
OL 73 Trey Smith So
OL 74 K'Rojhn Calbert Redshirt.svg Fr
OL 75 Jerome Carvin Fr
OL 76 Chance Hall Redshirt.svg Jr
OL 77 Devante Brooks Redshirt.svg So
TE 80 Eli Wolf Redshirt.svg Jr
TE 81 Austin Pope Redshirt.svg So
TE 82 Dominick Wood-Anderson Jr
WR 83 Cooper Melton So
TE 84 James Brown Redshirt.svg Fr
WR 85 Cedric Tillman Fr
TE 86 Andrew Craig Redshirt.svg Fr
TE 87 Jacob Warren Fr
TE 88 LaTrell Bumphus So
TE 89 Brandon Benedict Redshirt.svg So
OL 99 Ollie Lane Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 1 Jonathan Kongbo Redshirt.svg Sr
DL 2 Shy Tuttle Sr
DB 3 Marquill Osborne Jr
DL 5 Kyle Phillips Sr
DB 6 Alontae Taylor Fr
DB 7 Bryce Collier Jr
LB 7 Jordan Allen Redshirt.svg So
DB 9 Garrett Johnson Jr
DB 10 Bryce Thompson Fr
LB 11 Austin Smith Redshirt.svg Jr
DB 12 Zach Weatherly Redshirt.svg So
LB 13 Deandre Johnson So
DB 14 Quart'e Sapp Redshirt.svg Jr
DB 15 Shawn Shamburger Jr
LB 17 Dillion Bates Redshirt.svg Sr
DB 18 Nigel Warrior Jr
LB 19 Darrell Taylor Redshirt.svg Jr
DB 20 Cheyenne Labruzza Redshirt.svg Fr
LB 21 Shanon Reid So
DB 22 Micah Abernathy Sr
LB 23 Will Ignont Jr
DB 24 Todd Kelly Jr. Redshirt.svg Sr
DB 25 Trevon Flowers Fr
DB 26 Theo Jackson So
DB 27 Carlin Fils-Aime Jr
DB 28 Baylen Buchanan Jr
DB 29 Brandon Davis Fr
DB 31 D.J. Henderson Redshirt.svg Sr
DB 33 MaLeik Gatewood Redshirt.svg Jr
LB 34 Darrin Kirkland Jr Redshirt.svg Jr
LB 35 Daniel Bituli Jr
DB 36 Terrell Bailey Redshirt.svg Fr
DB 37 Sam Harvin Jr
LB 38 Solon Page III Redshirt.svg Fr
LB 39 Nick Humphrey So
LB 40 J.J. Peterson Fr
DB 41 Kenneth George Jr. So
LB 42 Nyles Gaddy Fr
DB 43 Jake Powers So
LB 46 Joshua Warren Redshirt.svg Fr
LB 47 Landon Knoll Redshirt.svg Jr
LB 48 Matt Ballard Redshirt.svg So
LB 50 Cole Hughes Jr
DB 51 Kingston Harris Fr
DL 52 Maurese Smith Redshirt.svg Fr
DL 55 Gatkek Kueth Redshirt.svg Fr
DL 56 Matthew Butler So
DL 59 John Mincey Fr
DL 64 Kurott Garland Fr
DB 79 Bryce Collier Jr
DL 93 Emmit Gooden Jr
DL 95 Kivon Bennett So
DL 96 Airin Spell Fr
DL 97 Paul Bain Redshirt.svg Sr
DL 98 Alexis Johnson Redshirt.svg Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK 30 Brent Cimaglia So
P 37 Paxton Brooks Fr
P 39 Grayson Pontius Jr
PK 41 Ryan Tice Redshirt.svg Sr
PK 43 Laszlo Toser Redshirt.svg Jr
LS 46 Riley Lovingood Redshirt.svg Jr
P 47 Joe Doyle Redshirt.svg Fr
LS 52 Elijah Medford Redshirt.svg Sr
LS 59 Jake Yelich Redshirt.svg So
PK 97 Jackson Morris So
Head coach
  • Jeremy Pruitt - 1st year
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Tyson Helton (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) - 1st year
  • Kevin Sherrer (Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers) - 1st year
  • Chris Rumph (Co-Defensive Coordinator/Outside Linebackers) - 1st year
  • Chris Weinke (Running Backs Coach) - 1st year
  • Charles Kelly (Special Teams Coordinator/Safeties) - 1st year
  • Terry Fair (Cornerbacks Coach) - 1st year
  • David Johnson (Wide Receivers Coach) - 1st year
  • Will Friend (Offensive Line Coach) - 1st year
  • Tracy Rocker (Defensive Line Coach) - 1st year
  • Brian Niedermeyer (Tight Ends Coach) - 1st year
  • Craig Fitzgerald (Director of Strength and Conditioning) - 1st year

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Current depth chart[]

Source:[13]

Game summaries[]

vs. West Virginia[]

Belk Kickoff Game
1 234Total
• No. 17 West Virginia 10 3207 40
Tennessee 0 770 14
  • Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Game start: 3:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 4:00
  • Game attendance: 66,793
  • Game weather: Temperature: 89 °F (32 °C) • Wind: 4 mph (6.4 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
  • Referee: Gary Patterson
  • TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Jamie Erdahl (sidelines)

ETSU[]

1 234Total
ETSU 0 030 3
Tennessee 10 28714 59
  • Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 3:52
  • Game attendance: 96,464
  • Game weather: Temperature: 90 °F (32 °C) • Wind: 8 mph (13 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Referee: Matt Austin
  • TV announcers (SECN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (color), Kris Budden (sidelines)

UTEP[]

1 234Total
UTEP 0 000 0
Tennessee 3 777 24
  • Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Game start: Noon
  • Elapsed time: 3:04
  • Game attendance: 87,074
  • Game weather: Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: 12 mph (19 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Referee: Steve Marlowe
  • TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (play-by-play), D. J. Shockley (color), Dawn Davenport (sidelines)

Florida[]

1 234Total
Florida 14 12714 47
Tennessee 0 3108 21
  • Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Game start: 7:00 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 3:26
  • Game attendance: 100,027
  • Game weather: Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: 3 mph (4.8 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Referee: James Carter
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Adam Amin (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (color), Quint Kessenich (sidelines)

at Georgia[]

1 234Total
Tennessee 0 066 12
No. 2 Georgia 7 10714 38
  • Location: Athens, Georgia
  • Game start: 3:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 3:10
  • Game attendance: 92,746
  • Game weather: Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: 3 mph (4.8 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Referee: John McDaid
  • TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Jamie Erdahl (sidelines)

at Auburn[]

1 234Total
Tennessee 3 10143 30
No. 21 Auburn 10 707 24
  • Location: Auburn, Alabama
  • Game start: Noon
  • Elapsed time: 3:30
  • Game attendance: 84,589
  • Game weather: Temperature: 70 °F (21 °C) • Wind: 6 mph (9.7 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
  • Referee: Matt Austin
  • TV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (play-by-play), D. J. Shockley (color), Dawn Davenport (sidelines)

Alabama[]

Third Saturday in October
1 234Total
• No. 1 Alabama 28 14160 58
Tennessee 0 1470 21
  • Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Game start: 3:30 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 3:19
  • Game attendance: 97,087
  • Game weather: Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: 10 mph (16 km/h) • Weather: Mostly cloudy
  • Referee: Matt Loeffler
  • TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Jamie Erdahl (sideline)
  • Sources:

at South Carolina[]

1 234Total
Tennessee 7 7100 24
South Carolina 3 6153 27
  • Location: Columbia, South Carolina
  • Sources:
  

Charlotte[]

1 234Total
Charlotte 0 300 3
Tennessee 14 000 14
  • Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m.
  • Elapsed time: 3:00
  • Game attendance: 86,753
  • Game weather: Temperature: 58 °F (14 °C) • Wind: 5 mph (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
  • Referee: Steve Marlowe
  • TV announcers (SECN Alt): Mike Morgan (play-by-play), Barrett Jones (color), Taylor Davis (sidelines)

Kentucky[]

1 234Total
No. 12 Kentucky 0 070 7
Tennessee 3 1470 24
  • Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Game start: 3:30 pm
  • Elapsed time: 3:12
  • Game attendance: 95,258
  • Game weather: Temperature: 45 °F (7 °C) • Wind: 6 mph (9.7 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
  • Referee: Matt Loeffler
  • TV announcers (SECN): John Congemi (play-by-play), Taylor Zarzour (color), Kris Budden (sidelines)

Missouri[]

1 234Total
Missouri 6 201410 50
Tennessee 0 1070 17
  • Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Sources:
  

at Vanderbilt[]

1 234Total
Tennessee 0 076 13
Vanderbilt 7 10021 38
  • Location: Nashville, Tennessee
  • Game weather: Temperature: 63 °F (17 °C) • Wind: 8 mph (13 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Referee: Marc Curles
  • Sources:
  

References[]

  1. ^ Journal, Logan Lowery Daily. "MSU fires Moorhead after two seasons". Daily Journal. All eight of Moorhead's victories in 2018 had to be vacated after 10 football players were reprimanded by the NCAA for academic misconduct involving a former part-time tutor and an online chemistry class.
  2. ^ "Jeremy Pruitt is a risk the Vols are willing to take".
  3. ^ Toppmeyer, Blake (November 26, 2017). "Vandy 42, Tennessee 24: Vols lose eight games for first time in program history". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  4. ^ "Currie Announces Head Football Coach Transition". Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  5. ^ "Sources: Tennessee fires coach Butch Jones". November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  6. ^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  8. ^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  9. ^ "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced". August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  10. ^ Cooper, J. A. (January 2, 2020). "Making orange green? A critical carbon footprinting of Tennessee football gameday tourism". Journal of Sport & Tourism. 24 (1): 31–51. doi:10.1080/14775085.2020.1726802. ISSN 1477-5085. S2CID 213782143.
  11. ^ "Tennessee Football Announces 2018 Schedule" (Press release). Birmingham, Alabama: Southeastern Conference. September 19, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  12. ^ "2018 Tennessee Volunteers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  13. ^ Terry Lambert, "Tennessee Releases First Depth Chart of 2018," Rocky Top Talk, August 27, 2018.
  14. ^ "West Virginia vs. Tennessee - Game Summary". ESPN. September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  15. ^ "ETSU vs. Tennessee - Game Summary". ESPN. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  16. ^ Adams, John (September 15, 2018). "UT Vols football shows 4-8 potential in victory over UTEP". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  17. ^ Sallee, Barrett (September 22, 2018). "Florida vs. Tennessee score: Gators romp over Volunteers to give Dan Mullen first SEC win". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  18. ^ Toppmeyer, Blake (September 29, 2018). "Georgia 38, Tennessee 12: 5 things we learned from UT Vols' 11th straight SEC loss". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  19. ^ Adams, John (October 14, 2018). "Underdog UT Vols football plays like favorites vs Auburn in possibly season-changing win". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  20. ^ Adams, John (November 3, 2018). "On this UT Vols football homecoming, Tennessee fans who stayed home made wise choice". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  21. ^ Toppmeyer, Blake (November 10, 2018). "Tennessee 24, Kentucky 7: Jarrett Guarantano, Vols defense fuel upset of Wildcats". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
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