Ranking the 5 most important newcomers for Tennessee football in 2025 ...Middle East

It’s difficult to know what Tennessee football will look like when it takes the field on Aug. 30 against Syracuse at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Defensively, the Vols should still be solid. Eight starters are back for DC Tim Banks, and though he lost some key starters in James Pearce Jr. and Omarr Norman-Lott, it’s hard not to trust Rodney Garner’s unit after years of consistency along the defensive line. That alone may be too much for a Syracuse program that has plenty of long-term optimism, but may struggle short-term having to replace its entire starting offense from a team that won 10 games in 2024.

Tennessee is in a similar boat, though. The Vols added 4 new projected starters along the offensive line and will replace their starting quarterback, starting running back and top 3 receivers from a College Football Playoff roster.

Newcomers and veterans moving into bigger roles make up the majority of Tennessee’s squad this year. Naturally, it begs the question: Who will be the most important new faces for Tennessee football this season?

Here are 5 players I’d nominate for that title, in order.

5. Radarious Jackson, WR

I’m starting off with a freshman, one of 2 on this list. Radarious Jackson has a fantastic opportunity ahead of himself this season, and I think he’s going to show out when he does hit the field.

Jackson is a 4-star prospect out of Sheffield High School in Memphis. He was considered one of the top prospects in the state and is one of 2 freshman receivers the Vols have to be excited about heading into this season, alongside fellow 4-star Travis Smith Jr. Vol fans may remember Jackson from his standout performance at the Orange & White game.

Allow this to jog your memory if you don’t. Strong toss from George MacIntyre, too:

RAD JACKSON ARE YOU SERIOUS?! ?#GBO ? pic.twitter.com/TO8TWYUK9H

We’ve seen impressive highlights at the Orange & White game turn into nothing before, but Jackson has real-deal speed and an exceptional ability to high-point the football. He showed it off a few times during spring practice.

As mentioned above, the Vols replace their top 3 receivers, returning just 462 yards of WR production last season — 75% of which comes from Chris Brazzell. If the Vols are going to succeed in the passing attack though, they’ll need at least 2 of Jackson, Mike Matthews, Braylon Staley, Amari Jefferson and Travis Smith (or whoever else wants to surprise us) to help pick up some slack. Jackson is the most athletic of the bunch and definitely has the skills for that role — it’s just a matter of endurance and adjustment to the college game.

4. Wendell Moe, OL

Arizona Wildcats transfer G Wendell Moe is stepping into a huge role along the Vols’ interior offensive line beside Notre Dame transfer G Sam Pendleton. You could place either on this list at this spot — both saw extensive action, and Pendleton started for the national runner-up.

Moe probably gets the edge because of his pass block grade, which was an 88.4, per PFF. He’s given up just one sack across over 1,000 snaps during his college career, and he’s heading into the season protecting an incoming transfer who thought he was playing for UCLA as late as April.

A majority of Moe’s starts at Arizona came at left guard, but he occasionally started games at right guard as well. He’ll be helping replace Javontez Spraggins, Jackson Lampley and Andrej Karic, who helped lead one of the best rushing attacks in the nation. Moe will be among the leaders for the primary offensive goal for this season, which will be to take as much pressure off Joey Aguilar as possible by creating another elite run game.

3. Colton Hood, CB

Hood is kind of flying under the radar because of how late he arrived for the party, only committing to the Vols on May 2. Every Vol fan that doesn’t already will know his name by October.

Why? For starters, the former Buffaloes CB was stout during his first real year of action with Coach Prime at Colorado. Hood played excellent coverage against future first-round draft pick Tetairoa McMillan last year (38 yards allowed, 1 INT) and finished the season with 6 pass deflections, 2 interceptions and 24 tackles.

He very nearly took the following interception to the house late game against Kansas State QB Avery Johnson:

COLTON HOOD PICKS IT OFF FOR COLORADO ?THE BUFFS TRAIL NO. 18 KANSAS STATE BY JUST 3 LATE IN THE FOURTH ? pic.twitter.com/kmtmIZpcQO

And, perhaps most importantly, he’s joining a great group that should amplify his strengths.

The Vols have a top 5 secondary in the SEC heading into next season, and just outside the top 10 in the sport, per PFF. Rickey Gibson and Jermod McCoy already make this a feared unit, but adding Hood might have been a sneaky massive move for Tennessee.

2. David Sanders, OL

Is it obvious that Tennessee’s offensive line will have a microscope on it for the first few weeks of the season yet? Even as a freshman, former 5-star prospect David Sanders is walking into a very crucial role for Tennessee this season.

The Vols’ NIL group paid Sanders handsomely to come to Tennessee, which means he’s almost certainly going to see a large amount of snaps as Tennessee’s right tackle. In the SEC. With a brand-new quarterback. Do you see where this is going?

Now, that’s not to say Sanders isn’t up to the task. He’s the Vols’ top-rated prospect and the No. 3 offensive tackle in the country according to 247Sports, and he’s also a monster of a human being at 6-6 and 290 pounds. If Sanders is good to great immediately, the Vols’ offensive line should hold one of the better starting units in the conference.

1. Joey Aguilar, QB

Just about anybody could have seen this placement coming.

Aguilar is the Vols’ assumed starter at the most important position on the field, and while some have been quick to assume that he’ll be out of that job quickly, I think there’s a very real path for Aguilar to be better than Nico Iamaleava was. He throws a better deep ball, and his gunslinger style can benefit from Tennessee’s more simplified offense.

If he’s good, it’s likely the Vols are going to be a 9-win team at minimum. If he really struggles and George MacIntyre or Jake Merklinger can’t sufficiently lead the offense in his stead, the Vols could lose 5 or 6 games.

At the very least, he’s going to let the ball fly. Aguilar threw for just under 6,000 yards across a pair of seasons at Appalachian State, including 3,700 yards with 33 touchdowns in 2023. Can his veteran skillset translate to Heupel’s offense, and can he outperform Nico’s 2024 season? If you answer “yes” to those 2 questions, and that’s definitely a big “if,” the Vols should be back in the College Football Playoff.

Related: Tennessee football is currently +5000 to win the 2025-26 national title, per DraftKings. Take a look at DraftKings and some other top Tennessee betting apps for a look at some fantastic welcome offers ahead of this football season.

Ranking the 5 most important newcomers for Tennessee football in 2025 Saturday Down South.

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