This is what veteran leadership is all about. At SEC Media Days, a ton of the focus was understandably on head man Josh Heupel, especially after he made it clear that there's an open competition for the starting QB job now that Nico Iamaleava is with UCLA.
However, senior tight end Miles Kitselman, back with Tennessee after getting an extra year of eligibility, spoke with reporters and he now has a lot of people ready for Week 1 to get here. Kitselman is all Vol and he has seen some of the negative talk surrounding the program.
Yes, things are going to be different with Iamaleava no longer in Knoxville, but the guys inside of the locker room have moved on. Kitselman made that quite clear, as he didn't hesitate in saying that Tennessee as a whole is ready to prove so many people wrong:
Tennessee TE Miles Kitselman has a message for anybody who might be sleeping on the Vols. "There's a lot of people that don't expect anything out of us, and I absolutely love that. You guys are going to look up at midseason and go, 'Tennessee is 7-0. They're doing it.' "
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) July 15, 2025
Miles Kitselman is using all of the Tennessee hate as fuel for a big 2025 season
Anyone else ready to run through a wall for Kitselman? That's quite the statement right there and it should motivate his teammates to shut up a ton of people this fall. Last campaign, the Vols posted 10 wins and made program history by reaching the College Football Playoff.
The loss to Ohio State, the eventual champs, still stings, but it doesn't take away from a remarkable year. This team is now ready to move forward with either Joey Aguilar, George MacIntyre or Jake Merklinger as the new starting quarterback.
Heupel said each guy is going to have a fair shot at winning the job. From our chair, Aguilar is the heavy favorite, but no one knows who will lead the offense out onto the field against Syracuse once Aug. 30 gets here.
Despite that, the QB1 will have confidence in knowing that Kitselman will be ready to make plays with the ball in the air. Yes, it was a tumultuous offseason for the SEC powerhouse, but the pieces are in place for Tennessee to make a lot of noise moving forward. Kitselman will be there to say, 'I told you so' once it happens too.