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Tennessee football vs. Florida: 15 best celebrity guest picker options for College GameDay

By Caleb Calhoun

UT Alum Peyton Manning in the stands during the first round of the NCAA Knoxville Super Regionals between Tennessee and Notre Dame at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee on Friday, June 10, 2022.Tennvsndbaseball 0191
UT Alum Peyton Manning in the stands during the first round of the NCAA Knoxville Super Regionals between Tennessee and Notre Dame at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee on Friday, June 10, 2022.Tennvsndbaseball 0191 /
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Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes during the NCAA Tournament second round game between Tennessee and Michigan at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Saturday, March 19, 2022.Kns Ncaa Vols Michigan Bp
Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes during the NCAA Tournament second round game between Tennessee and Michigan at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Saturday, March 19, 2022.Kns Ncaa Vols Michigan Bp /

14. Rick Barnes

If you’re going to have a Tennessee basketball coach pick the games, you could also go with the men’s basketball coach. What’s rare about Rick Barnes right now is that he’s generating just as much optimism behind that program as Kellie Harper is behind the women’s basketball program and Josh Heupel is behind Tennessee football.

Again, that’s only happened twice. There was excitement behind Bruce Pearl’s program with Chris Lofton in 2007 while UT football had a senior quarterback and the Lady Vols were defending national champions. Then there was 1998, when football and women’s basketball were defending national champions and men’s basketball seemed on the rise under Jerry Green.

Barnes is the only coach of the three who has actually won a championship on Rocky Top. He led the Vols most recently to the SEC Tournament Championship, and he returned a ton of talent while adding some superstars. That has shot expectations through the roof for him.

As a result, having Barnes on to pick the games given how committed he is to still following the football program wouldn’t be a bad idea. Barnes goes way back with Tennessee football, as he actually saw Condredge Holloway play at Neyland Stadium when he was a student.

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