It’s not like new faces aren’t common for teams when they open the season, but you don’t expect as many as Tennessee football had on Saturday for a program entering its fifth year under a head coach. From expected attrition to injuries to surprise transfers to even a new radio guy, a bunch of new people put on a show for the Vols in their win over Syracuse.
UT beat the Orange 45-26 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to open the season, and it all started on the mic. Longtime Titans radio broadcaster Mike Keith took over as the Voice of the Vols for Bob Kesling, and this was his first game. You can catch his call on all the highlights by clicking here.
Then there was the quarterback situation. Although Tennessee football always expected to replace a bunch of starters on offense this year, the plan was for Nico Iamaleava to be back. That plan changed in the spring when Iamaleava transferred to the UCLA Bruins while the Vols added Joey Aguilar, who transferred FROM UCLA in an effective swap.
Aguilar completed 16 of 28 passes for 247 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions while rushing for another 34 yards. He wasn’t flawless, but he showed he could manage the offense and that he could hit the deep ball, crucial in Heupel’s system, evidenced by his 73-yard scoring strike to Braylon Staley.
Keith and Aguilar weren’t the only headliners, though. Offensively, running back Star Thomas, a Duke Blue Devils transfer led everybody in yards from scrimmage, as he had 92 yards rushing to go along with a seven-yard reception. DeSean Bishop and Peyton Lewis both scored touchdowns on the ground, but Thomas, ironically, was the star.
Part of Thomas’ success was due to two new transfers up front on the offensive line. Notre Dame Fighting Irish transfer Sam Pendleton and Arizona Wildcats transfer Wendell Moe Jr. took over at center and guard respectively, and all they did was pave the way for Tennessee football to gain 248 yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Vols had to deal with the fact that their best player, Jermod McCoy, was still recovering from an ACL tear and couldn’t go. So they turned to another new player to make big plays in the secondary, Colton Hood. The Colorado Buffaloes transfer broke up three passes and had four tackles, three of which were solo. Most notably, he recovered a fumble and ran it into the end zone.
Everywhere you turned, new faces were making plays for Tennessee football in the Vols’ season-opening win, and it wasn’t even all the new faces we expect to see this year. After all, true freshman five-star tackle David Sanders Jr. couldn’t go. Will this last? That remains to be seen, but Heupel and the Vol Network seemed to have struck gold in their offseason additions.
