Vols Notes: Orange & White Game to end spring practice, basketball portal madness

KNOXVILLE — Four weeks of spring football will come to a close in Neyland Stadium on Saturday as Tennessee will have its annual Orange & White Game. Much like last season, most of the attention for the spring game will be surrounding the quarterback position. However, it's not because of a highly-paid, former five-star going AWOL for the final practice because of an NIL dispute and eventually leaving the program. Instead, the Vols are in the midst of a quarterback battle following the departure of Joey Aguilar. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon have both been vying for the job of starting quarterback throughout the offseason, and the two have been very even to this point. MacIntyre has gotten the first reps of work followed by Brandon, as has been expected. But, that doesn't mean the dust has settled on the battle. If last fall is any indication, Vols head coach Josh Heupel likely won't announce a decision until deep into fall camp. The other major storyline surrounding the Tennessee offseason is the cohesion of a lot of new defensive pieces. Headlining that group is the new defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles. A national champion at Ohio State in 2024, Knowles brought much of his staff from last season at Penn State with him to Knoxville. It wasn't just coaches Anthony Poindexter and Andrew Jackson coming from State College, though. The Nittany Lions' leading tackler from last year Amare Campbell, defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam, edge rusher Chaz Coleman, and safety Dejuan Lane all followed Knowles to Tennessee. After Tuesday's practice, Poindexter explained how that familiarity has helped this spring. "We're much further ahead as a defense with the players, but as a staff as well," he said. "We've all been with Coach (Jim Knowles) now, at least myself, (Andrew Jackson) and a couple other guys for two years. But you know, a couple of those guys have been with Coach (Jim Knowles) for a long time, so now we're all cohesive. We kind of know what Coach (Jim Knowles) wants, how he wants it to look. We're light years ahead of where we were a year ago." The scrimmage is set to start at 2 p.m. with free admission to fans. It will not be televised or streamed, but Vol Network will produce a radio broadcast of the afternoon. Basketball Roster Churn After the men's basketball team made its third-straight Elite 8 appearance, the 2026-27 roster will look a lot different than in 2025-26. On top of Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Felix Okpara, and Amaree Abram all graduating, six players have announced intentions of entering/have already entered the transfer portal. Post players Cade Phillips, J.P. Estrella, and Jaylen Carey will be departing, as will guards Amari Evans, Bishop Boswell, and Clarence Massamba. Standout freshman Nate Ament has also yet to announce a decision on his future. After averaging 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season, Ament is projected by most to be a lottery pick in June's NBA Draft. Rick Barnes has already landed one commitment in the transfer portal, former Belmont guard Tyler Lundblade, who was considered one of the top shooters in the portal. The Vols are also set to host Loyola Chicago center Miles Rubin and Cal guard Dai Dai Ames on visits this weekend. Currently, Troy Henderson, who originally announced he would enter the portal before reversing course, DeWayne Brown, and Ethan Burg are all still set to return. On the women's side, none of the potential returners for Kim Caldwell are set to come back, as they all have entered the transfer portal. Talaysia Cooper, the team's leading scorer from last year, committed to Ole Miss. Tennessee has landed two portal players in response to all of the departures: 20-point per game scorer from Northern Arizona Naomi White and All-CUSA selection from Liberty Avery Mills. The pair will be joining incoming freshman Gabby Minus after five-star Oliviyah Edwards was granted a release from her letter of intent.