2021 Tennessee Volunteers football team explained

Year:	2021
Team:	Tennessee Volunteers
Sport:	Football
Conference:	Southeastern Conference
Division:	East Division
Short Conf:	SEC
Record:	7–6
Conf Record:	4–4
Head Coach:	Josh Heupel
Hc Year:	1st
Off Coach:	Alex Golesh
Oc Year:	1st
Off Scheme:	Spread
Def Coach:	Tim Banks
Dc Year:	1st
Def Scheme:	Multiple 4–3
Bowl:	Music City Bowl
Bowl Result:	L 45–48^OT vs. Purdue

The 2021 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year coach Josh Heupel.

Recruiting class

!Ranking!Position!Name!Home State

★★★★	OT	Addison Nichols	Georgia
★★★★	QB	Tayven Jackson	Indiana
★★★★	WR	Cameron Miller	Tennessee
★★★	EDGE	Joshua Josephs	Georgia
★★★	TE	Brody Foley	Ohio
★★★	WR	Marquarius (Squirrel) White	Alabama
★★★	WR	Chas Nimrod	Arkansas
★★★	RB	Dylan Sampson	Louisiana
★★★	OG	Mo Clipper Jr.	Georgia
★★★	OT	Brian Grant	Florida
★★★	OG	Masai Reddick	Michigan
★★★	DT	Jordan Phillips	Florida
★★★	LB	Elijah Herring	Tennessee
★★★	LB	Kalib Perry	Kentucky

Coaching staff

Name	Position^[1]	Joined staff
		2021
		2021
		2021
		2021
		2021
Rodney Garner		2021
		2021
Joey Halzle		2021
Brian Jean-Mary		2021
		2021
Willie Martinez	Secondary	2021

Schedule

^[2]

Game summaries

Bowling Green

See also: 2021 Bowling Green Falcons football team.

Pittsburgh

See also: 2021 Pittsburgh Panthers football team.

Tennessee Tech

See also: 2021 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football team.

At No. 11 Florida

See also: 2021 Florida Gators football team and Florida–Tennessee football rivalry.

At Missouri

See also: 2021 Missouri Tigers football team.

Vs. South Carolina

See also: 2021 South Carolina Gamecocks football team.

No. 13 Ole Miss

See also: 2021 Ole Miss Rebels football team.

Statistics	MISS	TENN
First downs	29	29
Total yards	510	467
Passing yards	231	245
Rushing yards	279	222
Penalties	10–75	6–48
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	34:09	25:51

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ole Miss	Passing		21/38, 231 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Matt Corral	30 carries, 195 yards
Receiving		2 receptions, 66 yards, 1 TD
Tennessee	Passing	Hendon Hooker	17/26, 233 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	Hendon Hooker	23 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Velus Jones Jr.	6 receptions, 93 yards

The game was delayed for nearly 20 minutes in the 4th quarter as some Tennessee fans started to throw objects onto the field, including a golf ball that hit Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin in the leg. The eruption occurred after officials ruled that Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren was short on 4th-and-24 with just under a minute left to play.^[3] On the Monday following the game, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey announced that Tennessee would be fined $250,000 due to the fans' actions.^[4]

At No. 4 Alabama

See also: 2021 Alabama Crimson Tide football team and Third Saturday in October.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ALA -27.5	66.5

Statistics	Tennessee	Alabama
First downs	10	32
Total yards	346	574
Rushing yards	64	203
Passing yards	282	371
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	19:34	40:26

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee	Passing	Hendon Hooker	19/28, 282 yards, 3 TD's, 1 INT
Rushing	Tiyon Evans	7 carries, 30 yards
Receiving	Cedric Tillman	7 receptions, 152 yards, 1 TD
Alabama	Passing		31/43, 371 yards, 2 TD's
Rushing		26 carries, 107 yards, 3 TD's
Receiving		6 receptions, 123 yards

At No. 18 Kentucky

See also: 2021 Kentucky Wildcats football team and Kentucky–Tennessee football rivalry.

Statistics	Tennessee	Kentucky
First downs	17	35
Total yards	461	612
Rushing yards	145	225
Passing yards	316	387
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	13:52	46:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee	Passing	Hendon Hooker	15/20, 316 yards, 4 TD’s
Rushing	Jabari Small	4 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Velus Jones Jr.	5 receptions, 100 yards, 1 TD
Kentucky	Passing		31/49, 372 yards, 3 TD’s, 1 INT
Rushing		22 carries, 109 yards
Receiving		13 receptions, 166 yards, 1 TD

No. 1 Georgia

See also: 2021 Georgia Bulldogs football team and Georgia–Tennessee football rivalry.

South Alabama

See also: 2021 South Alabama Jaguars football team.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
TENN –28.0	61

Statistics	South Alabama	Tennessee
First downs	13	28
Total yards	285	561
Rushing yards	69	250
Passing yards	216	311
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	37:00	23:00

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Alabama	Passing		19/32, 216 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing		7 carries, 29 yards
Receiving		7 receptions, 143 yards, 1 TD
Tennessee	Passing	Hendon Hooker	17/20, 273 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing	Jaylen Wright	13 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Velus Jones Jr.	6 receptions, 103 yards

Vanderbilt

See also: 2021 Vanderbilt Commodores football team and Tennessee–Vanderbilt football rivalry.

Statistics	VAN	TENN
First downs	18	25
Total yards	321	441
Rushing yards	115	285
Passing yards	206	156
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	38:16	21:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing		16/31, 198 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Rocko Griffin	30 carries, 104 yards, TD
Receiving		5 receptions, 98 yards, TD
Tennessee	Passing	Hendon Hooker	10/18, 156 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Jaylen Wright	15 carries, 112 yards, TD
Receiving	Cedric Tillman	6 receptions, 106 yards, 2 TD

Purdue

See also: 2021 Purdue Boilermakers football team and 2021 Music City Bowl.

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2022 NFL draft.

2	49		CB	New Orleans Saints
3	71		WR	Chicago Bears
5	175		DT	Las Vegas Raiders
6	199		OG	Carolina Panthers
6	204		S	Tennessee Titans

Notes and References

1. Web site: Football Coaches. 2021-06-07. University of Tennessee Athletics. en.
2. Web site: 2021 Tennessee Football Schedule . FBSchedules.com . January 30, 2021.
3. Web site: Knox News. Wilson. Mike. How Tennessee Vols fans trashed end of Ole Miss game vs. Lane Kiffin. October 17, 2021. October 23, 2021.
4. Web site: ESPN. Low. Chris. SEC Fines Tennessee Volunteers $250k for fan behavior at end of loss to Ole Miss Rebels. October 18, 2021. October 23, 2021.