Tennessee finished up the 2025 season on a sour note, which sparked plenty of change in the program back in December. Josh Heupel made the move to fire Tim Banks, hiring Jim Knowles to fill his role as defensive coordinator. Knowles, naturally, had plenty of needs defensively to fill as he installed his system in Knoxville.
Three of those new additions made ESPN’s top 100 newcomers list for the upcoming college football season — along with a big name on offense.
20. DT Xavier Gilliam
Gilliam comes in with a clear path to
the field, following defensive coordinator Jim Knowles in from Penn State. Tennessee will be replacing several veterans up front on the defensive line, along with adjusting to a new system. Gilliam really flashed during the spring, generating plenty of buzz heading into the summer.
“Gilliam doesn’t have gaudy production (12 solo tackles in 2025) but his impact jumps out on tape,” ESPN’s Billy Tucker wrote. “He holds at the point of attack but also puts some pressure on the quarterback when rushing with continuous effort. He plays with heavy hands and power.“
22. QB Faizon Brandon
Brandon has quickly gone from prized quarterback prospect for the future, to perhaps 2026 starter. The five-star passer closed any gap that existed to George MacIntyre in the spring, and the battle is officially on looking ahead to the fall. This all coming after Joey Aguilar’s appeal for another season was denied, and Tennessee was priced out of top quarterback options in the transfer portal.
“Despite his age, Brandon uses his solid, balanced base to play under control,” Tucker wrote. He has the arm strength to make any throw and the accuracy to layer in balls where needed. While Brandon has plenty of arm talent, he’s also athletic and mobile enough to pressure defenses with his legs.”
This battle isn’t over by any stretch, but not many expected Brandon to be perceived as someone with a 50-50 shot at starting heading into the summer months.
27. EDGE Chaz Coleman
“Coleman not only fills a major need but also brings significant upside and first-round potential,” Tucker said. “As a true freshman, he cracked a talented Penn State defensive rotation by playing with burst and explosion off the edge. He has a quick first step that immediately stresses offensive tackles and pairs his vertical pass-rush ability with effective countermoves and fluid change of direction.“
Tennessee opened up the checkbook to bring in Coleman to replace Jordan Ross, Joshua Josephs and Caleb Herring. So far, it hasn’t gone well. Coleman missed much of the spring with vertigo symptoms and off the field “homesick” issues. Despite making some progress, Coleman failed to show up on time for summer workouts last week, but did eventually find his way to Knoxville.
Is he in any sort of football shape? Is he even interested in playing football this fall? Those are all questions that we don’t have answers to right now. It would seem like an upset at this point if Tennessee got meaningful snaps from Coleman this season.
Important note — Austin Price of Volquest reported that Tennessee and the Coleman camp agreed to restructure his contract, backloading the bulk of his money into the fall. So should the sides split, Tennessee won’t be on the hook financially.
68. CB Kayin Lee
Tennessee lost Jermod McCoy and Colton Hood to the NFL Draft, while Rickey Gibson hit the transfer portal. Ty Redmond, coming off of a freshman season that saw him start nearly every game, was all that was left. The staff needed another starter on the outside here, and Lee was a natural fit with experience.
“Lee has 36 games of SEC experience over three seasons at Auburn, where he spent most of the past two years in a starting role, and that’s instantly valuable for Tennessee’s secondary,” Tucker wrote. “He’s an impact talent and sticky cover corner who plays physically at the line of scrimmage. His hips are fluid and he has the speed to carry receivers downfield.”
Tennessee has a lot of pieces in the secondary, particularly at safety, and it will be interesting to see how they all fall into place. Corner does seem set with Lee and Redmond, however.
