Jake Crain explains why he left Tennessee off Crain & Cone's post-spring Top 25 rankings

Jake Crain has detailed why he didn’t put the Tennessee Volunteers football team in Crain & Cone‘s post-spring Top 25 rankings. While appearing on FOX Sports Knoxville on Wednesday, Crain said that Tennessee’s quarterback position is a big question mark.

“With last year, the way it happened with Nico [Iamaleava], some Tennessee fans were smart enough to be like, ‘Look, this is a tough situation,'” Jake Crain said. “Having questions at quarterback two years in a row and not going in the portal and getting a guy when you tried to get guys out of the portal, that worries me that you were looking for something better because you needed something better and found out you weren’t going to get anything better… it creates a tough situation.”

Crain said he thinks freshman QB Fazion Brandon “is going to be really special in the future.” However, that’s down the road, and Crain added, “You look at the personnel they have, I see why Tennessee fans feel like, ‘Oh no. We’re going to basically have a repeat of last year or worse.’

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“I hate to say it, I think they’re right, but it doesn’t mean Josh [Heupel] is a bad coach or that he forgot. I just think you got unlucky for two years in a row, and you compounded a problem you had with Nico.”

It looks like Brandon will compete with redshirt freshman George MacIntyre for the starting QB job. Whoever wins will replace Joey Aguilar, who is now a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2025, Aguilar completed 67.3 percent of his passes for 3,565 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while leading the Vols to an 8-5 record.

Despite the challenging 2025 season, it’s a little surprising not to see Tennessee in Crain & Cone’s Top 25 rankings because of what Heupel has done in his five seasons. After a 7-6 season in 2021, Heupel led the Vols to records of 11-2, 9-4, and 10-3 in 2022, 2023, and 2024.