Vol football wraps up another week of spring practice; hoops get active in portal

KNOXVILLE — Following the second scrimmage in Neyland Stadium on Thursday, the penultimate week of Tennessee's spring football practice came to a close ahead of Easter weekend. While closed to the public, Vols head coach Josh Heupel spoke to local media after the scrimmage. "Good work today, inside the scrimmage, scrimmage No. 2," Heupel said in his opening statement. "I thought defensively they did a really good job in the early part of the scrimmage. They were assignment sound, being in the right position and then getting off the field on third down. The second half of the scrimmage, the offense put a couple of things together. All in all, it was really good work and a lot left for us here as we head into our last week of spring ball." The biggest question surrounding the Vols for this fall is who the team will start at quarterback. With Joey Aguilar having lost his lawsuit against the NCAA for another season of eligibility, the two players battling for QB1 are redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon. Heupel said after Thursday's scrimmage that both have had good springs, and particularly Brandon has picked the system up pretty well for an early enrollee. "For a true freshman getting here in January and seven weeks offseason what we did and then hitting the ground in spring ball through today, he's been really sound in what he's done," Heupel said. "I think the pass game, certainly. There's a lot on our quarterbacks in the run game too. That's an area where, at times, can be the hardest part for our quarterbacks, but he has continued to progress in that. "There's still a lot left for him and everyone in that room for us to be what we need to. As a true freshman, I am certainly pleased with what he has done up to this point." On the defensive side of the ball, transfers like defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam and linebacker Amare Campbell have made strong impacts, due in part to their familiarity with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles last fall at Penn State. Tennessee will resume spring practice on Tuesday and will conclude the spring with the Orange & White Game next Saturday. Admission will be free to the public with the scrimmage starting at 2 p.m. at Neyland Stadium. Basketball Gets First Portal Signing After seeing the season end to Michigan in the Elite 8 on Sunday, Rick Barnes and Tennessee basketball have wasted no time in making additions to the 2026-27 roster. On Thursday, the Vols officially signed graduate transfer Tyler Lundblade out of the transfer portal. Lundblade won the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year this season for Belmont. He helped lead the Bruins to a 26-6 campaign and the regular season MVC championship. A Dallas native, Lundblade averaged 15.6 points per game while shooting 43 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from 3, and 93.4 percent at the free throw line. He was sixth in the country at 3.59 made 3-pointers per game and ninth with 115 total made triples. "We are thrilled to start our portal class with Tyler, who is both an exceptional player and an impressive young man," Barnes said in a statement. "There is no doubt Tyler is one of the very best shooters at the college level and he proved that in one of the nation's premier conferences. He can score in a variety of ways, whether that is a catch-and-shoot, dribble-handoff or off-the-dribble situation. Tyler has consistently been a part of winning teams and he brings a great deal of experience, as well as a tireless work ethic, with him to Rocky Top." Lundblade was at Belmont each of the past two seasons after beginning his career at TCU from 2021-24. Lady Vols Mass Exodus After the Lady Vols basketball team ended the season on an eight-game losing streak, the start of the offseason has signified a great deal of roster turnover. Tennessee's leading scorer Talaysia Cooper announced her intentions to enter the transfer portal on Thursday via her Instagram account. Cooper averaged 16 points and 3.6 assists per game in 29 games in 2025-26. She is the seventh potential returner to enter the portal, joining Alyssa Latham, Kaniya Boyd, Lauren Hurst, Deniya Prawl, and twins Mia and Mya Pauldo. Latham has already announced her next school, as she has committed to Virginia Tech. Spring Sports Tennessee baseball is looking to bounce back after getting swept by Vanderbilt in Nashville last weekend. The Vols open a three-game home series against LSU on Friday evening. Head coach Josh Elander has made a change to the offensive coaching staff, removing himself from coaching third base and instead will be in the dugout. The long-term plan is for Craig Bell, director of program development, to coach third while Ross Kivet remains at first. Lady Vols softball lost last weekend's series against Ole Miss, but have already taken game one of this weekend's set against South Carolina on Thursday. Karlyn Pickens threw 4 ⅔ innings of hitless softball to open the weekend and also earned her golden ticket to the AUSL, which was given to her postgame by Jennie Finch. The ticket officially drafts Pickens into the league for the upcoming season. Tennessee will finish the series against South Carolina on Friday and Saturday.