Tennessee fans can’t believe where Vols are ranked in ‘way too early’ Top 25
The 2024 college football season is officially over, with the Ohio State Buckeyes taking care of business against Notre Dame on Monday night. The confetti hasn’t even fully been cleaned off the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium yet, but people are already thinking ahead to next season.
Before kickoff for the natty, though, On3 released its way-too-early Top 25 for the 2025 campaign and it has plenty of people talking. As you might have been able to guess, Texas is ranked No. 1, with Ohio State right behind them at No. 2.
However, Tennessee football fans were taken aback a bit when they saw the Vols at No. 13. Really? What’s even more surprising is that Tennessee is checking in behind some questionable teams, including Florida, South Carolina and Auburn:
Tennessee has extra motivation thanks to new early Top 25 poll for 2025
The Vols are losing plenty of key pieces on both sides of the ball, of course including James Pearce Jr., a future first-round pick in the NFL Draft, and running back Dylan Sampson, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year.
Despite that, there’s still plenty of optimism for next season thanks to quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who will be entering his sophomore year. Iamaleava had some ups and downs in 2024, but when he caught fire throwing the deep ball, it was brilliant to watch.
There’s going to be a new look for the wide receivers room, though, as five wideouts entered the portal and Bru McCoy won’t be back either. However, Amari Jefferson recently transferred in from Alabama and Boo Carter is expected to play on both sides too.
Losing Sampson hurts, but Star Thomas just committed to play for Josh Heupel as well, which provides veteran experience at the position for the UT offense. We are still a long time away from Week 1 getting here, but it looks like the Vols have some extra motivation leading up to ’25 thanks to this latest poll.
