Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all who celebrate out there. Tis the season. Well, it’s a couple of important seasons. It’s holiday season, as mentioned, but it’s also transfer portal season. With the holidays and portalmania overlapping this week, it felt right to put out my wish list of players that Santa could bring […]
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all who celebrate out there. Tis the season. Well, it’s a couple of important seasons. It’s holiday season, as mentioned, but it’s also transfer portal season.
With the holidays and portalmania overlapping this week, it felt right to put out my wish list of players that Santa could bring me to help Tennessee get back to playoff level in 2026. To be clear, Tennessee won’t get all of these guys, but any of them would be impact additions that could help steer the Vols back in the right direction next season.
Quarterback: any of the following three
Josh Hoover, TCU
The bottom line is that Tennessee desperately needs an experienced signal caller in 2026, with only George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon being scholarship QBs for next season. There aren’t many more experienced players at the QB position that Hoover.
Tennessee took a run at him last year after Nico Iamaleava dipped out right before the spring game, but according to an ESPN article back in July, Hoover shut them down before he even heard the offer because he was supposedly happy where he was. It appears that’s no longer the case. Since Tennessee was interested then, it stands to reason they’d be interested now. A three-year starter for the Horned Frogs, he’d step in and give the Vols an experienced arm to rely on going into 20265.
Brendan Sorbsy, Cincinnati
Another experienced and productive player, Sorsby apparently has ties to the Knoxville area with family there. That should be a big selling point for Josh Heupel and his staff. Sorsby is one of the top QBs in the portal, if not the top QB (the Athletic has him as their #1 portal QB). The NFL is also not out of the question at this point. Texas Tech has been listed as a favorite, but Tennessee should be an attractive destination after Joey Aguilar’s strong season last year.
Drew Mestemaker, North Texas
Mestemaker had a big, big year in 2025 for North Texas, leading all of FBS with 4129 passing yards. He’s got the size at 6-4, 215 pounds and the arm to make impact plays at the Power Four level. As mentioned, with how Heupel was able to help turn Aguilar into the SEC’s top passer in 2025, Mestemaker has the tools to potentially make a similar leap from Group of Five to being a standout in the SEC. He’s been linked to following his old coach to Oklahoma State, but Tennessee is a name that most people (excluding Hoover last year, apparently) will listen to.
Running back
Hollywood Smothers, NC State
Peyton Lewis’ departure opens up the chance for Tennessee to add another running back, and while Tennessee likely won’t spend up to the level to land one of the top players at the position and pay a guy like Smothers, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love to have him. Smothers is a productive runner, sure, but he’s also gotten involved in the passing game substantially, with 37 catches last year for the Wolfpack that included 6 games with 4 or more catches. By way of comparison, Jaylen Wright had 22 catches in 2023, and Dylan Sampson had 20 in 2024. I personally like getting the running back more involved in the passing game, and Smothers is a boon in that category.
Defensive line/edge
Chaz Coleman, Penn State
There’s a logical connection here for Tennessee, as Coleman’s defensive coordinator last year was new Vols DC Jim Knowles. But the early buzz has Ohio State as the team to beat to land Coleman. Getting arguably the top edge rusher of current portal players available would be a big shot in the arm to a defense that needs more playmakers in the front seven next season.
Mateen Ibirogba, Wake Forest
Ibirogba is a big and disruptive force and moves very well for being 6-3, 300 pounds. Last year for Wake Forest, he totaled 26 pressures and delivered an 11% pressure rate from inside for the Demon Deacons. After watching that type of athleticism from the Vols’ 2024 defensive rotation, I’m spoiled. Give me that caliber of player again in Ibirogba.
Safety
Khalil Barnes, Clemson
Barnes burst onto the scene in 2023, where was named a freshman All-American. Over three years and 30 starts, he’s produced 147 tackles, 16 PBUs, and 7 interceptions. He’ll be one of the most productive and talented defensive backs on the market, but Tennessee needs vastly improved play on the back end of their defense. After watching Jakobe Thomas blossom into a true star with Miami this year, it would be nice to have someone like Barnes come in and have an elite season in Knoxville.
Now, before I get nastygrams from some folks in the comments telling me I’m being unreasonable, I know Tennessee isn’t going to pay all of these names. It’s a wishlist after all. One or two of these names would make me downright giddy.
And we’ll still see who else puts their names in the portal hat this week as well. For now, these are the players I have my eye on.
Category: General Sports
