Big Orange Report February 26, 2026

 

Next Man Up

On Friday Knox County Judge Chris Heagarty ruled in favor of the NCAA and denied Joey Aguilar a continuing injunction that would have allowed him to return to the Tennessee team for another season. Heagarty, a graduate of the University of Tennessee Law School, basically ended Aguilar's collegiate football career. He is expected to attend an NFL draft combine in the near future.

The court's decision means that Coach Josh Heupel will now turn to three candidates for the starting nod. There is an outside chance that a quarterback might elect to leave another school after the spring semester is completed, but this option is unlikely to occur in April or May.

The Vols now have three quarterbacks on the roster, George MacIntyre, a redshirt freshman, true freshman Faizon Brandon and veteran transfer from Colorado, Ryan Staub. Prior to spring drills getting underway, MacIntyre appears to be the front runner to win the job. MacIntyre (6-6, 200) appeared in two games last season, connecting on seven of nine passes for 69 yards. He was ESPN's No. 8 ranked pocket passer in the Class of 2025. The training and nutrition staffs are working to add some weight to his very slender frame and he has already added about 10 pounds this winter.

Brandon (6-3.5, 195) is considered a dual threat signal caller and was a five-star ranked player on three recruiting services. He was also listed as a top 10 overall prospect in the nation and the No. 1 recruit out of the state of North Carolina. Staub saw limited action for Colorado last fall when he threw for 427 yards, three touchdowns and was intercepted four times.

Spring practice is scheduled to get underway on March 16. The quarterback competition will obviously be the focus of interest for the media and Vol fans but the new defensive staff and their progress with the players on that side of the ball will also attract significant attention.

Flipping the Script

The Tennessee men's basketball team has endured a pattern of almost losing or giving up leads in games this season. In Nashville on Saturday the Vols flipped that script and came from behind in the second half to defeat Vanderbilt 69-65. UT trailed at intermission but outscored the Commodores by eight points in the second half to secure this crucial victory. At one point, Vandy enjoyed a nine point advantage. In this battle, there were 20 lead changes before the final horn.  

The team's 20th win marked the fifth consecutive year that Coach Rick Barnes squad has recorded 20 or more victories during the regular season.

It was not easy and at times the game looked more like a Roller Derby fight than a basketball contest. The Tennessee bench delivered big time along with starting guard Bishop Boswell. Freshman Dwayne Brown stepped up when a couple of the Vols big men got into foul trouble. Tennessee's star freshman, Nate Ament, ended up on the floor several times but still did lead the team in rebounding with nine. Former Vanderbilt player Jalen Carey delivered  hard nosed defense, raked down seven rebounds and scored seven points.

Tennessee has a road game at dangerous Missouri on Tuesday night before returning home to host Alabama on Saturday. ESPN will handle the television broadcast at 6 p.m.

The UT women are struggling and have dropped out of the top 25 polls. Coach Caldwell's team did put up a fierce fight at Oklahoma on Sunday before losing. The team's best player, Janiah Barker, was left in Knoxville with an injury or illness.

The regular season finales are going to be a double tough chore with two games vs. Top 10 opponents. Tennessee travels to Baton Rouge on Thursday for a televised contest on ESPN at 5 p.m. to face LSU.  The high flying Vanderbilt Commodores will be in Knoxville on Sunday with ESPN again featuring the in-state showdown at 1 p.m.

No. 1 on a Roll

The Lady Vol softball squad blew through another tournament over the weekend and now stand at 13-0 on the season. Tennessee has outscored the opponents by an amazing 113-5 thus far this season while defeating five ranked teams in the process. Leadoff batter Sophia Knight, a transfer from Boise State, is hitting an astonishing .543 after three tournaments. On Sunday UT run ruled Southern Illinois in Birmingham and junior pitcher Sage Mardjetko tossed a no-hitter and missed a perfect game by one walk. In five innings, Mardjetdo fanned 12 of 15 outs.

Tennessee will host an invitational event in Knoxville this weekend that will include a vey good Penn State squad. The teams will square off Friday evening. 

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