American college football season
The 2018 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt .[ 2] They finished the season 5–7, 2–6 in SEC play to finish in last place in the Eastern Division.[ 3]
Preseason
2018 recruiting class
College recruiting information (2018)
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Trevon Flowers S
Tucker, GA
Tucker
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Feb 7, 2018
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 76
J.J. Peterson OLB
Moultrie, GA
Colquitt County
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Jan 6, 2018
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 86
John Mincey DT
Homerville, GA
Clinch County
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
250 lb (110 kg)
Jan 19, 2018
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 77
Cedric Tillman WR
Las Vegas, NV
Bishop Gorman
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Feb 7, 2018
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Dominick Wood-Anderson TE
San Diego, CA
Arizona Western (JC)
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
255 lb (116 kg)
Dec 20, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 81
Jeremy Banks RB
Cordova, TN
Cordova
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
Dec 20, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 78
Jordan Allen DE
Fairfield, CA
City College SF (JC)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
230 lb (100 kg)
Dec 20, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 82
J. T. Shrout QB
Newhall, CA
Hart
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Dec 20, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 79
Jerome Carvin OL
Cordova, TN
Cordova
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
305 lb (138 kg)
Dec 20, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 79
Kingston Harris DT
Bradenton, FL
IMG Academy
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
260 lb (120 kg)
Dec 18, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 76
Alontae Taylor ATH, WR
Manchester, TN
Coffee County Central
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Dec 22, 2017
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 86
Paxton Brooks K
West Columbia, SC
Airport
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Aug 17, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 77
Tanner Antonutti OL
Nashville, TN
Ensworth
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
260 lb (120 kg)
Jul 30, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 76
Greg Emerson DE
Jackson, TN
Northside
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
280 lb (130 kg)
Jul 3, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 81
Jacob Warren TE
Knoxville, TN
Farragut
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
May 24, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 77
Brant Lawless DT
Nashville, TN
Nashville Christian
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
300 lb (140 kg)
May 1, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 83
Ollie Lane OL
Corryton, TN
Gibbs
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
270 lb (120 kg)
Apr 12, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 77
Matthew Flint LB
Gurley, AL
Madison County
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Aug 2, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 78
Jahmir Johnson OT
Philadelphia, PA
Arizona Western (JC)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
290 lb (130 kg)
Dec 27, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 79
D'Andre Litaker DT
Murfreesboro, TN
Riverdale
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
285 lb (129 kg)
Jun 13, 2017
Star ratings : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout : 22 Rivals : 20 247Sports : 20 ESPN : 25
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Award watch lists
Listed in the order that they were released
The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018, with the Volunteers predicted to finish in sixth place in the East Division.[ 8]
Media poll (East)
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1
Georgia
1,977 (271)
2
South Carolina
1,535 (8)
3
Florida
1,441 (2)
4
Missouri
1,057
5
Kentucky
874 (1)
6
Tennessee
704 (1)
7
Vanderbilt
392
Preseason All-SEC teams
The Volunteers had one player selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.[ 9]
Schedule
Tennessee announced its 2018 football schedule on September 19, 2017. The 2018 schedule consisted of 7 home games,[ 10] 4 away, and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Volunteers hosted SEC foes Florida , Alabama , Kentucky , and Missouri , and traveled to
Georgia , Auburn , South Carolina , and Vanderbilt .[ 11]
The Volunteers hosted three of its four non–conference games which were against ETSU from the Southern Conference , UTEP and Charlotte , both of whom competed in the Conference USA . They traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina , for the Belk Kickoff against West Virginia from the Big 12 Conference .
Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance September 1 3:30 p.m. vs. No. 17 West Virginia * CBS L 14–4066,793
September 8 4:00 p.m. East Tennessee State * SECN W 59–396,464
September 15 12:00 p.m. UTEP * Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN SECN W 24–087,074
September 22 7:00 p.m. Florida Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry ) ESPN L 21–47100,027
September 29 3:30 p.m. at No. 2 Georgia CBS L 12–3892,246
October 13 12:00 p.m. at No. 21 Auburn SECN W 30–2484,589
October 20 3:30 p.m. No. 1 Alabama CBS L 21–5897,087
October 27 7:30 p.m. at South Carolina SECN L 24–2780,614
November 3 4:00 p.m. Charlotte * Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN SECN W 14–386,753
November 10 3:30 p.m. No. 12 Kentucky Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry ) SECN W 24–795,258
November 17 3:30 p.m. Missouri Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN CBS L 17–5088,224
November 24 4:00 p.m. at Vanderbilt SECN L 13–3835,887
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Schedule Source: [ 12]
Personnel
Roster and staff
Current depth chart
Source:[ 13]
Defense
CB
Baylen Buchanan
Marquill Osborne
DJ Henderson
Offense
LT
LG
C
RG
RT
Trey Smith
Jahmir Johnson Riley Locklear
Ryan Johnson
Jerome Carvin
Drew Richmond Marcus Tatum Chance Hall
Nathan Niehaus
K'Rojhn Calbert
⋅
Riley Locklear
⋅
⋅
⋅
⋅
⋅
⋅
Special teams
PK Brent Cimaglia
PK Laszlo Toser
P Joe Doyle Paxton Brooks
LS Riley Lovingood Elijah Medford
Game summaries
Vs. West Virginia
Belk Kickoff Game
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 17 West Virginia
10
3 20 7
40
Tennessee
0
7 7 0
14
Location: Charlotte, North CarolinaGame start: 3:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 4:00Game attendance: 66,793Game weather: Temperature: 89 °F (32 °C) • Wind: 4 mph (6.4 km/h) • Weather: SunnyReferee: Gary PattersonTV announcers (CBS ): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Jamie Erdahl (sidelines)
ETSU
1
2 3 4 Total
ETSU
0
0 3 0
3
• Tennessee
10
28 7 14
59
Location: Knoxville, TennesseeGame start: 4:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:52Game attendance: 96,464Game weather: Temperature: 90 °F (32 °C) • Wind: 8 mph (13 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudyReferee: Matt AustinTV announcers (SECN ): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (color), Kris Budden (sidelines)
UTEP
1
2 3 4 Total
UTEP
0
0 0 0
0
• Tennessee
3
7 7 7
24
Location: Knoxville, TennesseeGame start: Noon Elapsed time: 3:04Game attendance: 87,074Game weather: Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: 12 mph (19 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudyReferee: Steve MarloweTV announcers (SECN ): Dave Neal (play-by-play), D. J. Shockley (color), Dawn Davenport (sidelines)
Florida
1
2 3 4 Total
• Florida
14
12 7 14
47
Tennessee
0
3 10 8
21
Location: Knoxville, TennesseeGame start: 7:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:26Game attendance: 100,027Game weather: Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: 3 mph (4.8 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudyReferee: James CarterTV announcers (ESPN): Adam Amin (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (color), Quint Kessenich (sidelines)
At No. 2 Georgia
1
2 3 4 Total
Tennessee
0
0 6 6
12
• No. 2 Georgia
7
10 7 14
38
Location: Athens, GeorgiaGame start: 3:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:10Game attendance: 92,746Game weather: Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: 3 mph (4.8 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudyReferee: John McDaidTV announcers (CBS ): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Jamie Erdahl (sidelines)
At Auburn
1
2 3 4 Total
• Tennessee
3
10 14 3
30
No. 21 Auburn
10
7 0 7
24
Location: Auburn, AlabamaGame start: Noon Elapsed time: 3:30Game attendance: 84,589Game weather: Temperature: 70 °F (21 °C) • Wind: 6 mph (9.7 km/h) • Weather: SunnyReferee: Matt AustinTV announcers (SECN): Dave Neal (play-by-play), D. J. Shockley (color), Dawn Davenport (sidelines)
Alabama
Third Saturday in October
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 1 Alabama
28
14 16 0
58
Tennessee
0
14 7 0
21
Location: Knoxville, TennesseeGame start: 3:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:19Game attendance: 97,087Game weather: Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: 10 mph (16 km/h) • Weather: Mostly cloudyReferee: Matt LoefflerTV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), Jamie Erdahl (sideline)
At South Carolina
1
2 3 4 Total
Tennessee
7
7 10 0
24
• South Carolina
3
6 15 3
27
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Charlotte
1
2 3 4 Total
Charlotte
0
3 0 0
3
• Tennessee
14
0 0 0
14
Location: Knoxville, TennesseeGame start: 4:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:00Game attendance: 86,753Game weather: Temperature: 58 °F (14 °C) • Wind: 5 mph (8.0 km/h) • Weather: SunnyReferee: Steve MarloweTV announcers (SECN Alt): Mike Morgan (play-by-play), Barrett Jones (color), Taylor Davis (sidelines)
Kentucky
1
2 3 4 Total
No. 12 Kentucky
0
0 7 0
7
• Tennessee
3
14 7 0
24
Location: Knoxville, TennesseeGame start: 3:30 pm Elapsed time: 3:12Game attendance: 95,258Game weather: Temperature: 45 °F (7 °C) • Wind: 6 mph (9.7 km/h) • Weather: SunnyReferee: Matt LoefflerTV announcers (SECN): John Congemi (play-by-play), Taylor Zarzour (color), Kris Budden (sidelines)
Missouri
1
2 3 4 Total
• Missouri
6
20 14 10
50
Tennessee
0
10 7 0
17
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
At Vanderbilt
1
2 3 4 Total
Tennessee
0
0 7 6
13
• Vanderbilt
7
10 0 21
38
Location: Nashville, TennesseeGame weather: Temperature: 63 °F (17 °C) • Wind: 8 mph (13 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudyReferee: Marc Curles
References
^ Lowery, Logan (September 12, 2024). "MSU fires Moorhead after two seasons" . Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal . Retrieved September 17, 2024 . All eight of Moorhead's victories in 2018 had to be vacated after 10 football players were reprimanded by the NCAA for academic misconduct involving a former part-time tutor and an online chemistry class.
^ Staples, Andy (December 7, 2017). "Hiring Jeremy Pruitt Is a Risk Tennessee Is Right to Be Willing to Take" . SI.com . Retrieved November 26, 2024 .
^ "2018 Southeastern Conference Year Summary" . College Football at Sports-Reference.com . Retrieved December 13, 2024 .
^ "2018 Bednarik Award Watch List" . July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018 .
^ "2018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED" . July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018 .
^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List" . July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018 .
^ "Watch List for 2018 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ® Presented by A. O. Smith Announced" . August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
^ Lambert, Terry A. (June 7, 2018). "Athlon Sports previews the 2018 Tennessee Volunteers" . Rocky Top Talk . Retrieved December 13, 2024 .
^ "Trey Smith Captures Preseason All-SEC First Team Honors" . University of Tennessee Athletics . July 20, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2024 .
^ Cooper, J. A. (January 2, 2020). "Making orange green? A critical carbon footprinting of Tennessee football gameday tourism". Journal of Sport & Tourism . 24 (1): 31– 51. doi :10.1080/14775085.2020.1726802 . ISSN 1477-5085 . S2CID 213782143 .
^ "Tennessee Football Announces 2018 Schedule" (Press release). Birmingham, Alabama : Southeastern Conference. September 19, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2017 .
^ "2018 Tennessee Volunteers Football Schedule" . FB Schedules. Retrieved December 25, 2017 .
^ Terry Lambert, "Tennessee Releases First Depth Chart of 2018 ," Rocky Top Talk, August 27, 2018.
^ "West Virginia vs. Tennessee – Game Summary" . ESPN. September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018 .
^ "ETSU vs. Tennessee – Game Summary" . ESPN. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2018 .
^ Adams, John (September 15, 2018). "UT Vols football shows 4–8 potential in victory over UTEP" . Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved September 15, 2018 .
^ Sallee, Barrett (September 22, 2018). "Florida vs. Tennessee score: Gators romp over Volunteers to give Dan Mullen first SEC win" . CBS Sports . Retrieved September 23, 2018 .
^ Toppmeyer, Blake (September 29, 2018). "Georgia 38, Tennessee 12: 5 things we learned from UT Vols' 11th straight SEC loss" . Knoxville News Sentinel . Retrieved September 29, 2018 .
^ Adams, John (October 14, 2018). "Underdog UT Vols football plays like favorites vs Auburn in possibly season-changing win" . Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
^ King, Nathan (October 13, 2018). "Guarantano leads Tennessee to upset of No. 21 Auburn, 30-24" . AP News . Retrieved December 13, 2024 .
^ Megargee, Steve (October 21, 2018). "Fast start helps No. 1 Alabama trounce Tennessee 58-21" . AP News . Retrieved December 13, 2024 .
^ Iacobelli, Pete (November 8, 2018). "South Carolina feeling confident after consecutive wins" . AP News . Retrieved December 13, 2024 .
^ Adams, John (November 3, 2018). "On this UT Vols football homecoming, Tennessee fans who stayed home made wise choice" . Knoxville News Sentinel . Retrieved November 3, 2018 .
^ Toppmeyer, Blake (November 10, 2018). "Tennessee 24, Kentucky 7: Jarrett Guarantano, Vols defense fuel upset of Wildcats" . Knoxville News Sentinel . Retrieved November 10, 2018 .
^ Megargee, Steve (November 11, 2018). "Vols continue home mastery of No. 12 Kentucky with 24-7 win" . AP News . Retrieved December 13, 2024 .
^ Megargee, Steve (November 18, 2018). "Missouri trounces Tennessee 50-17 for third straight win" . AP News . Retrieved December 13, 2024 .
^ Walker, Teresa M. (November 25, 2018). "Vandy beats rival Tennessee 38-13 for 2nd bowl in 3 seasons" . AP News . Retrieved December 13, 2024 .
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