Wednesday Wonder: Does 2027 Still Look Like The Big Year For The Vols?

It's going to be a challenging road ahead for the Vols in 2026 and beyond in SEC play.

Credit: Avery Bane/Tennessee Athletics

One of the most critical developments this offseason for Tennessee football was that the Volunteers cleared the 50-percent mark in the Blue-Chip Ratio. It’s the first time the Vols cleared that mark since 2005, per GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan. The Vols came in at No. 17 in CBS Sports’ Bud Elliot’s July piece at 54 percent. There are 18 teams total that qualified this season. Of course, just because you cross the 50-percent threshold as a university does not guarantee you a championship. It simply means that, historically speaking, Tennessee can win the title this season, as no school has won a national championship in football with a blue-chip ratio of less than 50 percent in over 20 years.

Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel and his staff have recruited very well since arriving in 2021. This 2026 recruiting class, if it holds over the next couple of months, will be his best class to date on Rocky Top. The Vols currently have the No. 8 recruiting class in 2026, with 14 of their 24 commits being blue-chippers, per Rivals. There is a whole lot to like about this class, especially the two headliners in five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon and five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys.

Vol fans had to be patient as Heupel and his staff gradually refilled the roster cupboard while also winning 37 games over the last four seasons. You saw years of hard work pay off on the recruiting trail in Tennessee’s near-victory over No. 3 Georgia a couple of weeks ago inside Neyland Stadium. Tennessee hasn’t closed the gap against Kirby Smart and his Bulldogs entirely, but it’s never been closer, which makes sense considering where Tennessee is in the blue-chip ratio this season.

The SEC officially unveiled future conference opponents from 2026 through 2029 on Tuesday evening. We know Tennessee’s three permanent conference opponents for the next four years, at least, will be Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Alabama, which is a big win for the Vols – look at Arkansas’s draw. Even still, Tennessee’s 2026 slate figures to be a whole lot more arduous than their 2025 or 2024 slate of games. Georgia Tech has grown into a legitimate power atop the ACC this season under head football coach Brent Key, and you’ve got them early in the season. You also have to travel to College Station, Fayetteville & Columbia (S.C.). The Vols have visited Texas A&M once and lost in 2016. Tennessee has lost in three of its last four trips to South Carolina. Tennessee has lost five of its last six against the Razorbacks and hasn’t won in Fayetteville since 2001. No question, it’s a challenging 2026 road conference schedule for the Vols.

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That’s before you even mention Tennessee’s exciting, but scary, home slate with Texas, Auburn, LSU, and Alabama coming to town next fall. It reminds me a lot of Georgia’s home slate this season, where, yes, it’s awesome on one hand to have so many big-time games in your backyard, but that’s still a lot of big-time games in your backyard.

My biggest wonder this morning is how Heupel and his staff approach the quarterback position now that you know what’s on your team’s plate next season and the one after. You could certainly argue that the 2027 schedule for Tennessee is more challenging than the 2026 schedule. Do you roll with a redshirt freshman in George MacIntyre in 2026 or even a true freshman in Faizon Brandon? Or do you go back into the portal in January and see if you can strike gold again with a veteran quarterback with only a year of eligibility remaining to give your two blue-chip quarterbacks a bit more time to grow and develop for the grind of a nine-game SEC schedule?