We live in a new world. College football isn’t the same, and until there’s a players union, a true leadership entity over the conferences, and a collective bargaining agreement between the two sides, we’ll see players jumping ship, opting out of bowls, etc.
With the Music City Bowl four days away, a fifth Vol standout opted out of the bowl game for the NFL – LEO Joshua Josephs. With the Vols now without four of their best defenders along with their biggest playmaker on offense in Chris Brazzell II, God only knows what this team is going to look like against Illinois next week in the Music City Bowl.
However, what bowl games have become is an opportunity to evaluate players for next year. These games are no longer meaningful, at least to the programs. I watched Miami bench Cam Ward last year in the Pop Tarts Bowl against Iowa State and put in Emory Williams for the second half to evaluate him. Miami blew a double-digit lead and lost by one. I’m not saying Tennessee isn’t trying to win here, but it’s become clear to me that some teams are actively making decisions without regard to winning these games. So hey, let’s evaluate some talent instead, shall we?
There are four players for the Vols that I will excitedly have my eyes on against the Illini.
Ross appeared in 10 games and logged 216 snaps. He flashed potential throughout the season and posted the fifth-highest Pro Football Focus grade on the defense at 76.4. With Josephs opting out, the playing time should increase for Ross in Nashville.
James Pearce, Jr. had the coming out of coming out parties in the Citrus Bowl two years ago. He was a very good and productive player in 2023, mind you, but he put himself on a lot of maps with a huge game in the 35-0 shutout of Iowa. Provided he’s back healthy and good to go, could Ross have a similar game where he announces his presence eight months in advance for 2026?
2) WR Radarious Jackson and/or Travis Smith, Jr.
I’m hedging here, but I just wonder if we’ll see one of these two step up with Brazzell out. Jackson is listed as Brazzell’s backup, but either him or Smith, Jr. could step in.
Tennessee has two terrific and proven receivers in Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews, and five-star sensation Tristen Keys is coming in soon. Do they have a third solid player on the roster right now? Can either of this duo stake an early claim to a key role in 2026?
An underappreciate contributor on a bad defense in 2025, Spillman has been far from a stranger to the field – he logged 477 snaps this year across 12 games. But when he was on the field, he was mostly terrific. His 78.9 PFF grade was the third highest on the defense. He was the only player on the defense to earn PFF marks of 71 or above in all five defensive categories (defense, run defense, tackling, pass rush, coverage).
Similar to Ross, I want to see if this is the breakout game for him that pushes him towards potential stardom moving forward.