Tennessee freshmen to watch against Illinois

Tennessee has arrived in the mid-state for another appearance in the Music City Bowl this evening, set to play Illinois out of the Big Ten. The Volunteers will try to flush a couple of bad officiating memories in Nashville, most recently against Purdue back in 2021.

Of course, the bowls have changed over the past several years, taking on a new meaning to the programs participating. The rise of opt-outs have made these matchups more of a showcase of younger talent, as the pro-level players focus on the NFL Draft process. That’s no different this year for Tennessee.

Chris Brazzell, Jermod McCoy, Arion Carter, Joshua Josephs and Colton Hood have all opted out of this game, opening the door for the Tennessee staff to evaluate a handful of freshmen. As we look ahead to 2026, these will be the names in focus tonight at Nissan Stadium.

Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith

No Chris Brazzell will leave a massive void in the Tennessee offense, along with a massive opportunity for a couple of freshmen. Radarious Jackson is expected to get the start for Brazzell, while Travis Smith will be the next man up in the rotation. Both have played sparingly this season as they’ve battled through injuries.

Jackson has seen an uptick in snaps and the flashes have been there. Tennessee will need him on the outside today and it will be interesting to see how he performs being thrown into the spotlight. It’s a chance for Jackson — or Smith — to solidify big roles in the 2026 offense.

Daune Morris

Peyton Lewis has opted out of this one, but Morris had already seemed to jump ahead of him on the depth chart. The same can be said of Star Thomas, as Morris saw his snaps increase down the last few games of the season. A mid-state product, Morris has a great chance to go into next season as RB2 behind DeSean Bishop. We’re expecting to see a healthy amount of work for Bishop in this one, but Morris should be the next man up.

Tre Poteat and Timothy Merritt

Let’s be honest, the Tennessee secondary is a mess going into this one. The Volunteers have lost Jermod McCoy, Rickey Gibson and Boo Carter — three starters — over the course of the season. Colton Hood, who emerged as a playmaker and potential first round pick, has opted out. That leaves a handful of true freshmen along with senior Jalen McMurray.

McMurray has manned the nickel spot this season, but could obviously move around today with depth concerns. Ty Redmond will continue in his starting role, then true freshmen Tre Poteat and Tim Merritt could each see significant playing time on the other side.

Tennessee is expected to get Gibson and Redmond back next season, but this is an obvious audition for playing time in 2026 for Poteat and Merritt ahead of transfer portal additions.

Jadon Perlotte

No Arion Carter in this one leaves the linebacker rotation in the hands of Jeremiah Telander, Edwin Spillman and the freshman Jadon Perlotte, who has really come on late in the year. Perlotte’s speed from the linebacker spot could be a real weapon moving forward, and Tennessee has put that ability to work in the second half of the season. Expect to see more examples of that this evening.

George MacIntyre

Joey Aguilar is obviously playing and getting the start in this one, but there has been some chatter about MacIntyre seeing a drive or two. Josh Heupel didn’t exactly shoot those rumors down on Monday during the pregame press event.

“We’ll just kind of see how the game unfolds and what the identity of the game is,” Heupel told reporters. “Nothing where we’re planning on putting him in second series or anything like that.”

Hmm.

Tennessee is about to hop in the transfer portal battle for a veteran quarterback with Joey Aguilar’s NCAA lawsuit timeline seemingly forcing him out of the Vols’ 2026 plans. MacIntyre has taken all the second-team reps throughout bowl practices and the staff may be inclined to get a look or two in a live game situation. Or maybe they don’t, but we’ll see tonight.

Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.