2017 Tennessee Volunteers football team


The 2017 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2017 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. They were led by fifth-year head coach Butch Jones until his firing on November 12. Brady Hoke was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
The team finished the season 4–8, 0–8 in SEC play in last place in the Eastern Division and the SEC. They were the first Tennessee team in program history to lose eight games in a season, as well as the first to not win an SEC game since becoming a charter member of the conference in 1932.

Offseason

Departures

Departures of scholarship players from the 2016 team.
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotesRef
Derek Barnett9DE6'3265JRNashville, TNEntered 2017 NFL Draft
Alvin Kamara6RB5'10215RS JRNorcross, GAEntered 2017 NFL Draft
Josh Malone3WR6'3200JRGallatin, TNEntered 2017 NFL Draft
Dylan Wiesman71OL6'4310SeniorCincinnati, OHGraduated
Kenny Bynum51LB6'1235RS SeniorJacksonville, FLGraduated
Corey Vereen50DL6'2249SeniorWinter Garden, FLGraduated
Cameron Sutton23DB5'11186SeniorJonesboro, GAGraduated
Jalen Reeves-Maybin21LB6'0230SeniorClarksville, TNGraduated
Jason Croom18TE6'5246RS SeniorNorcross, GAGraduated
Malik Foreman13DB5'10190SeniorKingsport, TNGraduated
Joshua Dobbs11QB6'3210SeniorAlpharetta, GAGraduated
LaTroy Lewis4DL6'4256RS SeniorAkron, OHGraduated

Personnel

Roster and staff

2017 recruiting class

Current depth chart

Schedule

Tennessee announced its 2017 football schedule on September 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home games, 4 away, and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Volunteers hosted SEC foes Georgia, South Carolina, LSU, and Vanderbilt, and traveled to Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri.
The Volunteers hosted three of its four non–conference games which were against Indiana State from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, UMass, who competes independently, and Southern Miss from Conference USA. They traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff against Georgia Tech from the ACC.

Rankings

Game summaries

Georgia Tech

Overall recordLast meetingResult
24–17–21987Tennessee, 29–15

In a renewed rivalry with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the Tennessee Volunteers traveled to Atlanta to play in their second Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The Volunteers never had the lead in regulation play but scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 28 and force overtime. Each team traded touchdowns through two overtimes with Georgia Tech ultimately seeking to win the game on a two-point conversion. However, quarterback TaQuon Marshall could not complete the pass, and Tennessee secured the 42–41 victory.
In his first start as a Volunteer, quarterback Quentin Dormady went 20-for-37 for 221 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to wide receiver Marquez Callaway. Running back John Kelly ran for 128 rushing yards and four touchdowns. After averaging 47 yards on six punts, five of which pinned the Yellow Jackets inside their 20-yard line, punter Trevor Daniel was named Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week.
Following the game, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones stated, "That was a very good college football game. I have a lot of respect for Georgia Tech. I am really proud of our players. We spoke all week long about a will to win, and that was the kind of game to find out our will to win. We knew that this was going to be a game that you had to show some resolve and some grit, and you had to play complementary football." He added, "The resolve and resiliency of our defense, even though we gave up yards rushing, we still managed to force two takeaways, and offensively, we didn't turn the football over, which was paramount to winning the football game."

Indiana State

In their home opener, the #25 Tennessee Volunteers hosted the Indiana State Sycamores in the teams' first-ever meeting. From the opening kickoff, which Tennessee freshman running back Ty Chandler returned 91 yards for a touchdown, the Volunteers scored 28 unanswered points. Indiana State's only touchdown came early in the third quarter. Tennessee scored twice more to win their home-opener, 42–7. Following the game, Chandler was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones called the outcome "a good win." He added, "With the short turnaround, I thought did a very good job all week long of trying to prepare their bodies and their minds, so I'm really proud of them. I thought one of the keys to the game was third-down defense and being able to get off the field."

Florida

Overall recordLast meetingResult
20–262016Tennessee, 38–28

In a defensive battle throughout much of the game, the #23 Tennessee Volunteers faced their rivals, the #24 Florida Gators in Gainesville. Down by 10 points in the fourth quarter, Tennessee recovered to allow kicker Aaron Medley to tie the game at 20, after getting stalled in Florida territory with less than a minute to play. As time expired, Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks threw a 63-yard pass to open wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland for a touchdown, sealing a 26–20 victory.

UMass

Overall recordLast meetingResult
23–21–22016Tennessee, 34–31

South Carolina

Overall recordLast meetingResult
25–8–22016South Carolina, 24–21

Alabama

Overall recordLast meetingResult
38–53–72016Alabama, 49–10

For the 11th straight time, the Crimson Tide defeated the Volunteers in their annual rivalry game. Tennessee's lone score came on a 97-yard pick-six from Daniel Bituli off of Tua Tagovailoa in the third quarter.

Kentucky

Overall recordLast meetingResult
79–24–92016Tennessee, 49–36

For only the second time in the last 33 meetings, and despite having a turnover margin of 4–0, the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Tennessee Volunteers by a score of 29–26.

Southern Miss

Overall recordLast meetingResult
5–02007Tennessee, 39–19

The Volunteers snapped a four-game losing streak in the 24–10 victory over Southern Miss. Running back John Kelly recorded two touchdowns and quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had one rushing touchdown.

Missouri

Overall recordLast meetingResult
2–32016Tennessee, 63–37

LSU

Overall recordLast meetingResult
20–9–32011LSU, 38–7

Vanderbilt

Overall recordLast meetingResult
75–31–52016Vanderbilt, 45–34

Team players drafted into the NFL

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Rashaan GauldenSafety385Carolina Panthers
John KellyRunning back6Los Angeles Rams
Kahlil McKenzieDefensive tackle/Offensive guard6198Kansas City Chiefs