# 2018 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 2018 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt. They finished the season 5–7, 2–6 in SEC play to finish in last place in the Eastern Division.

## Preseason
### 2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2018) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Trevon Flowers S | Tucker, GA | Tucker | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Feb 7, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| J.J. Peterson OLB | Moultrie, GA | Colquitt County | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jan 6, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 |||||||
| John Mincey DT | Homerville, GA | Clinch County | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Jan 19, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Cedric Tillman WR | Las Vegas, NV | Bishop Gorman | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Feb 7, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Dominick Wood-Anderson TE | San Diego, CA | Arizona Western (JC) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 255 lb (116 kg) | Dec 20, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Jeremy Banks RB | Cordova, TN | Cordova | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Dec 20, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Jordan Allen DE | Fairfield, CA | City College SF (JC) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Dec 20, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| J. T. Shrout QB | Newhall, CA | Hart | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Dec 20, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Jerome Carvin OL | Cordova, TN | Cordova | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 305 lb (138 kg) | Dec 20, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Kingston Harris DT | Bradenton, FL | IMG Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) | Dec 18, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Alontae Taylor ATH, WR | Manchester, TN | Coffee County Central | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Dec 22, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 |||||||
| Paxton Brooks K | West Columbia, SC | Airport | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Aug 17, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Tanner Antonutti OL | Nashville, TN | Ensworth | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) | Jul 30, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Greg Emerson DE | Jackson, TN | Northside | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Jul 3, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Jacob Warren TE | Knoxville, TN | Farragut | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | May 24, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Brant Lawless DT | Nashville, TN | Nashville Christian | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 300 lb (140 kg) | May 1, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 |||||||
| Ollie Lane OL | Corryton, TN | Gibbs | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | Apr 12, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Matthew Flint LB | Gurley, AL | Madison County | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Aug 2, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Jahmir Johnson OT | Philadelphia, PA | Arizona Western (JC) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 290 lb (130 kg) | Dec 27, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| D'Andre Litaker DT | Murfreesboro, TN | Riverdale | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 285 lb (129 kg) | Jun 13, 2017 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 22 Rivals: 20 247Sports: 20 ESPN: 25 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

### Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released
| Award | Player | Position | Year |
| Chuck Bednarik Award | Nigel Warrior | S | JR |
| Outland Trophy | Trey Smith | OL | SO |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Kyle Phillips | DL | SR |
| Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award | Keller Chryst | QB | GS |

### SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018, with the Volunteers predicted to finish in sixth place in the East Division.
Media poll (East) :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Georgia | 1,977 (271) |
| 2 | South Carolina | 1,535 (8) |
| 3 | Florida | 1,441 (2) |
| 4 | Missouri | 1,057 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 874 (1) |
| 6 | Tennessee | 704 (1) |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | 392 |

### Preseason All-SEC teams

The Volunteers had one player selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.

## Schedule

Tennessee announced its 2018 football schedule on September 19, 2017. The 2018 schedule consisted of 7 home games, 4 away, and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Volunteers hosted SEC foes Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, and Missouri, and traveled to Georgia, Auburn, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt.
The Volunteers hosted three of its four non–conference games which were against ETSU from the Southern Conference, UTEP and Charlotte, both of whom competed in the Conference USA. They traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Belk Kickoff against West Virginia from the Big 12 Conference.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. No. 17 West Virginia* | Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, NC (Belk Kickoff Game / SEC Nation) | CBS | L 14–40 | 66,793 |
| September 8 | 4:00 p.m. | East Tennessee State* | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | SECN | W 59–3 | 96,464 |
| September 15 | 12:00 p.m. | UTEP* | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | SECN | W 24–0 | 87,074 |
| September 22 | 7:00 p.m. | Florida | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | ESPN | L 21–47 | 100,027 |
| September 29 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 2 Georgia | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA (rivalry) | CBS | L 12–38 | 92,246 |
| October 13 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 21 Auburn | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL (rivalry / SEC Nation) | SECN | W 30–24 | 84,589 |
| October 20 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 1 Alabama | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October / SEC Nation) | CBS | L 21–58 | 97,087 |
| October 27 | 7:30 p.m. | at South Carolina | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC (rivalry) | SECN | L 24–27 | 80,614 |
| November 3 | 4:00 p.m. | Charlotte* | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | SECN | W 14–3 | 86,753 |
| November 10 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 12 Kentucky | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | SECN | W 24–7 | 95,258 |
| November 17 | 3:30 p.m. | Missouri | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | CBS | L 17–50 | 88,224 |
| November 24 | 4:00 p.m. | at Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN (rivalry) | SECN | L 13–38 | 35,887 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Personnel
### Current depth chart

Source:
Defense :
* FS
* Nigel Warrior
* Shawn Shamburger
* Todd Kelly Jr.
| JACK | MLB | WLB | SAM |
| Jonathan Kongbo | Daniel Bituli | Darren Kirkland Jr. Quart'e Sapp | Darrell Taylor |
| Deandre Johnson | Will Ignont | Dillon Bates | Austin Smith |
| ⋅ | ⋅ | ⋅ | Jordan Allen |
* Safety
* Micah Abernathy
* Trevon Flowers
* Theo Jackson
* CB
* Alontae Taylor Bryce Thompson
* Carlin Fils-aime
| DE | NT | DE |
| Kyle Phillips | Shy Tuttle | Alexis Johnson |
| Paul Bain | Emmit Gooden | Kingston Harris |
* CB
* Baylen Buchanan
* Marquill Osborne
* DJ Henderson
Offense :
* WR
* Marquez Callaway
* Tyler Byrd
* Cedric Tillman
* WR
* Brandon Johnson
* Jordan Murphy
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Trey Smith | Jahmir Johnson Riley Locklear | Ryan Johnson | Jerome Carvin | Drew Richmond Marcus Tatum Chance Hall |
| Nathan Niehaus | K'Rojhn Calbert | ⋅ | Riley Locklear | ⋅ |
* TE
* Dominick Wood-Anderson
* Eli Wolf Austin Pope
* WR
* Josh Palmer Jauan Jennings
* QB
* Jarrett Guarantano Keller Chryst
* Will McBride
* J. T. Shrout
* Special teams
* PK Brent Cimaglia
* PK Laszlo Toser
* P Joe Doyle Paxton Brooks
* LS Riley Lovingood Elijah Medford
* RB
* Tim Jordan Ty Chandler Madre London
* Jeremy Banks

## Game summaries
### Vs. West Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 17 West Virginia | 10 | 3 | 20 | 7 | 40 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### ETSU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| ETSU | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| • Tennessee | 10 | 28 | 7 | 14 | 59 |

### UTEP

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UTEP | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Tennessee | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

### Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Florida | 14 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 47 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 21 |

### At No. 2 Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| • No. 2 Georgia | 7 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 38 |

### At Auburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Tennessee | 3 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 30 |
| No. 21 Auburn | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 1 Alabama | 28 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 58 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |

### At South Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tennessee | 7 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| • South Carolina | 3 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 27 |

### Charlotte

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Charlotte | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Tennessee | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 12 Kentucky | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • Tennessee | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |

### Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Missouri | 6 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 50 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### At Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tennessee | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| • Vanderbilt | 7 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 38 |