There were no easy answers for Tennessee players immediately following last Saturday night's 42-17 loss at Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.
Especially for those who had just played for the final time with the Volunteers.
"I don't really know how to really put it into words or how to articulate what this journey and what all these people who I've encountered in my time at Tennessee have meant," fifth-year senior center Cooper Mays said. "I don't really know if I've got the words to explain it. I truly do love this place, and I love going into work with these guys every day and every week."
Those minutes after Tennessee's 10-3 season ended were just as difficult for the coaches.
"I see a guy like Cooper Mays afterwards, and it's like, 'Man, it's going to be weird walking into the facility the next time and him not standing in there,'" offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said. "For those guys, when we got here, everybody had the opportunity to leave because of the coaching change and with the rules with the portal and everything.
"The fact those guys chose to stay and that they're still here and where they took this program from 2021 to 2024 to where we're in the College Football Playoff -- the Tennessee fan base should long love that entire group of guys who helped bring this program back to where it is."
When Tennessee racked up its 11-2 record and Orange Bowl championship during the 2022 season, it was due to a dazzling offense headed by quarterback Hendon Hooker and receiver Jalin Hyatt, the program's first Biletnikoff Award winner. The Vols were able to simply outscore opponents that year, including the 52-49 thriller over Alabama, with an attack that had nation-leading averages of 525.5 yards and 46.1 points per game.
This season's strength, however, was the guts of the roster.
The Vols had six multiyear seniors on their offensive line and five multiyear seniors on their defensive front. They succeeded at the basic objectives of running the ball and stopping the run, currently ranking ninth nationally in both rushing offense (225.9 yards per game) and rushing defense (103.9).
"We're going to miss all those guys, and it's going to be very hard to replace the leadership that those guys gave us," defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. "We feel really good about some of the young guys who we've brought in and some of the guys who showed some promise earlier in the year. The standard will be the standard. We're excited about the youth that we have.
"We'll miss the leadership, but we've definitely got some guys who are going to pick it up."
Tennessee's top strengths for 2025 expect to be quarterback Nico Iamaleava and a secondary containing the likes of Jermod McCoy, Boo Carter and Rickey Gibson III, but the ability for the Vols to maintain their 10-win average of the past three seasons and challenge for another CFP opportunity will most likely be the result of whether the trenches are replenished successfully.
"For the young guys, the message is this just doesn't happen," Halzle said. "You don't just get to go to the College Football Playoff, and it's now their time to step in and become the leaders and the guys who make the plays, but everything is earned. That's the message moving forward. There's a lot of competition out there now, so we should have a really high-end offseason to go get us back to where we want to be."
Said fifth-year senior defensive tackle Omari Thomas: "We were coachable, and we just have to continue to be coachable for the program to continue to succeed. You need guys in the program who love the program and who love the culture about it."
Thomas and Mays were in-state signees in the 2020 class and played in all 10 games their freshman season when the Vols went 3-7 in a COVID-altered schedule. They wound up combining for 114 game appearances and 88 starts, and they leave a leadership void that will be difficult to replace.
Not to mention a legacy of helping take Tennessee far from the Southeastern Conference's lower echelon, where the program had mostly resided for more than a decade.
"I have truly loved competing and getting better every week with these guys, and I'm super upset that it's over," Mays said. "I'm also super proud of everybody involved with getting this place back to more where it's supposed to be."
Moore, Staes in portal
Tennessee walk-on quarterback Gaston Moore has entered the NCAA transfer portal and will play his super senior season elsewhere.
The 6-foot-2, 212-pounder from Hilton Head, South Carolina, played in six games this season as Iamaleava's backup, completing 16 of 27 passes (59.3%) for 201 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He replaced an injured Iamaleava in the second half of the Nov. 9 game against Mississippi State, completing five of eight passes for 38 yards in finishing off a 33-14 win over the Bulldogs.
Moore started his college career under Josh Heupel at Central Florida in 2020 and followed Heupel to Tennessee in 2021, playing one game that season, three in 2022 and four last year.
Also entering the portal is junior tight end Holden Staes, who played two seasons at Notre Dame before transferring to Knoxville. The 6-4, 248-pounder played in all 13 games for the Vols, tallying 15 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.
Contact David Paschall at [email protected].