Will the Vols be able to keep the in-state commit on board?

Already, the Tennessee football team holds seven known verbal pledges for the 2026 class. That’s right, head coach Josh Heupel and his assistants have been on the grind in getting early commitments, but there’s now an offensive playmaker for Vols fans to worry about.

Back in August, 4-star tight end Carson Sneed announced he was going to be Tennessee-bound, shutting down his recruitment in favor of the in-state Vols. However, teams haven’t stopped recruiting the Nashville product, with Miami and Mario Cristobal ramping up their efforts. So much in fact, Sneed has locked in two visits to meet with the Canes later this year. This is not good for Heupel:

Tennessee TE commit Carson Sneed will take 2 visits to Miami

First up, Sneed will be taking an unofficial visit to Miami for spring ball. Then, per his 247Sports page, he’ll be taking his official visit to Coral Gables on June 6. It’s clear that Sneed has high interest in the Canes if he’s going to be taking two separate visits to campus.

This is something that has plenty of Vols fans nervous. Throughout his recruitment, he has picked up 40 offers. In addition to being ranked four stars, Sneed is also the No. 10 tight end in the country according to the 247Sports Composite.

He’s one of the top TEs out there for his class, which is why Tennessee, Miami and so many others are hoping to land his signature next winter. Tennessee was able to win a massive recruiting battle to receive his commitment, but nothing is official for him and he’s free to take as many visits as he wants.

Once spring camp arrives for Tennessee, it would be wise for Heupel to get his future tight end back in Knoxville to remind him of the bright future he’ll have if he decides to play his college ball with Tennessee. Miami is going all-in to get him to flip, which would be a bummer for the UT staff as a whole if it goes down.

Monday Musings: A potentially tough finish to Trey Smith’s time in Kansas City

Happy Monday everyone. Well, it is unless you’re a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Speaking of, there is some Tennessee Vols-related contest from that one-sided Super Bowl, so let’s get to it.

1) If that was Trey Smith’s swan song in Kansas City, then…….woof.

One of the keys of the game coming in was how well Kansas City’s offensive line would handle the Eagles’ pass rush. Spoiler: they did not handle the Eagles’ pass rush well.

Philly sacked Patrick Mahomes 6 times and left him scrambling darned near all game. Their pressure rate at one point was over 50% in the second half, which is absolutely ridiculous.

Unfortunately, much of that blame fell on the Chiefs’ offensive linemen, and Smith wasn’t without blame. Smith allowed three pressures and a sack, per Pro Football Focus, earning a meh grade of 63.2. Not nearly as bad as backup Mike Caliendo at right guard, who earned a 32.0 grade and was basically helpless to stop anybody. But not good enough to slow down Phladelphia’s defensive front nonetheless.

Smith had carried the banner for Tennessee football in the NFL playoffs, winning back to back Super Bowls and coming up one win short of being the first three-peat Super Bowl winners ever.

Now, he could be heading to a new opportunity. Smith should be one of the top free agents on the market this offseason and surely the top interior offensive lineman. He’ll likely command a salary north of $20 million per year, which is the top of the market for guards right now. Someone like Bears or Patriots seem like potential fits, given their cap space and needs.

We’ll see how things play out in March, when free agency begins.

2) Man, Tennessee kind of got the shaft this week in the AP poll.

The Vols beat #15 Missouri and led Oklahoma by 20+ points for much of the game in a 70-52 thrashing of OU on the road. I mean, how does that warrant a drop?

I know, I know, Florida beat Auburn, and that was one of the wins of the college basketball season so far. But that same team fell to a very shorthanded Tennessee team by 20 points just 9 days ago.