Welcome to Glass Slipper! My mortal enemy Miles Mikolas has to pitch against the Dodgers this evening. It’s a good day; please enjoy the show.

- Jacob Rhee

Josh Heupel entered the building in 2021, and he’s since woken up a sleeping giant of college football. Now, his squad has a legitimate chance to hang a banner. It’s time to discuss the #10 team in the Glass Slipper rankings, Tennessee.

Offense

Meet the first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. I tried my hardest to come up with some sort of comparison for Nico Iamaleava, to give those of you that are unfamiliar with him a little bit of context for what you’re about to witness. But there’s really no one similar. I guess he’s kind of like a twitchier Justin Herbert. Think Daniel Jones, if he was actually good at football. The most accurate one I came up with was Randall Cunningham, which I’m sure my older readers will enjoy.

I usually want young athletes to prove themselves before I hop on the bandwagon, but not in this case. Iamaleava has made one collegiate start, and I was strongly considering throwing him into my Heisman finalist piece earlier this week. He doesn’t have to do it alone, either. Heupel successfully stole former five-star left tackle Lance Heard from LSU, and he joins a really solid group up front. Squirrel White is fantastic in the slot, and Dylan Sampson now has the RB1 title after two seasons of promising flashes. The Vols always tend to run the ball a little more than you think; I think a 1,200-yard campaign for Sampson is incoming. This is one of the ten best offenses in the nation, and the top unit in the SEC. It’s going to be weekly fireworks.

Defense

For some reason, Tennessee has developed a bit of a reputation as one of those whoever-has-the-ball-last-wins programs. I honestly don’t know why; the defense over the past two seasons has been completely fine. There’s a bit of inexperience this year, especially in the linebacker room and the secondary. But there will be plenty of talent on the field, and this defensive line is going to carry the load. Omari Thomas is back for another year of run-stuffing, and another year of making me laugh because he wears #21 as a 325-pound man. You already know my thoughts on James Pearce Jr.; Nico may not quite make it to New York for the Heisman ceremony, but the Vols’ superstar edge rusher will.

This defense isn’t necessarily special, but it doesn’t really need to be. Just bend, don’t break.

Season Outlook

Pre-Bowl Record Prediction: 10-2

Selection Sunday Fan Mood: They can’t leave us out, right? We had to play Georgia, Alabama, and Oklahoma in the same season and only finished with two losses! I know we didn’t make the conference title game, but it’s hard! This is the SEC, after all. It just means more! S-E-C! S-E-C!

Pressroom

Spin It

“Bring It On Home to Me” by Sam Cooke. Incredible.