National Analyst Believes Tennessee Football Can Make CFP

On3's Andy Staples said he believes the Tennessee Volunteers could make the College Football Playoff in an expanded field this season.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) at the Citrus Bowl NCAA College football game on Monday, / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY

On3's Andy Staples said he believes the Tennessee Volunteers could make the College Football Playoff in an expanded field this season.

The Tennessee Volunteers are one of a handful of programs that could greatly benefit from the 12-team College Football Playoff field. They finished just outside the CFP in 2022 and would have made it had there been a 12-team playoff then. The Vols are coming off a 9-4 season, and while they have a lot of work to do, there are some among the national media that see big potential.

On3's Andy Staples spent time with the program during spring practices and came away impressed with how they run the operation in Knoxville, Tennessee. Missouri and Ole Miss were two programs that were also in the same conversation for Staples next season.

"Tennessee, saw them last week. Super deep on the defensive line, deeper in the secondary than we thought they were going to be, deeper at receiver than we probably thought they were going to be. They need some injury luck on the offensive line. They need to stay healthy on the offensive line to be as good as they can be. But I feel like that’s a team that can play with anybody if Nico is as good as we think he’s going to be." On3's Andy Staples on Tennessee

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