After the season ended last December, the Vols right away got to work looking for a new quarterback, as it was expected that Joey Aguilar wasn't going to win the lawsuit he had against the NCAA. The Vols went hard after Sam Leavitt, but lost him to LSU, and Tennessee couldn't sway Ty Simpson either. Tennessee had some brief dialogue with former Mizzou quarterback Beau Pribula, but he committed to Virginia.
Chris Brazzell believes Tennessee’s offensive evolution is preparing him for Sundays
Considering that Tennessee ended up with Ryan Staub, the backup at Colorado last year, CBS Sports has noted that Tennessee was amongst one of "College football teams hurt most by the loss of the transfer portal's spring window in 2026." While they aren't completely wrong, I wouldn't say they are right either. I don't think many Vols fans mind trotting out a young quarterback this year. Sure, it would be nice to have a star for one year, but ultimately, the Vols have had so much quarterback trouble; it would be nice to have a homegrown developed guy in the system.
CBS says Tennessee was hurt by no spring portal
CBS basically said Tennessee missed on a lot of their top portal targets. They could’ve added a quarterback, but that’s not really a move I’m a big fan of. A lot of guys in the spring portal window lost their jobs in spring practice anyway, so I’m not even sure the guys they would get are necessarily better than Faizon Brandon or George MacIntyre.
Sure, Josh Heupel could have offered a bag to someone's starter, but it’s not the end of the world for them to roll with a young guy. This year is more about growth, getting better on defense under Jim Knowles, and seeing the freshman quarterback who wins the job develop. If that happens and they hit the portal hard again, they could make a real push in 2027.
Ultimately, Tennessee could have benefited from the portal this spring, but I don't buy it as much as most people might. I guess only time will tell.
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