ESPN writers spit in the faces of a handful of Tennessee standouts in latest 2025 rankings
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The Tennessee Vols didn’t have the best result on the field as a team for the 2025 season. At 8-5 and with losses to every team with a winning record that they faced, it was a season that won’t be remembered for much down the road — save for a 31-11 win over the Florida Gators that snapped a 22-year losing streak in Gainesville.
Still, the Vols had a number of notable individual performances this season. Joey Aguilar re-ignited a Tennessee passing game and offense that had been largely dormant for two years. Chris Brazzell II became a certified star and potential first-round pick in April’s NFL Draft. Colton Hood is also in the first-round discussion. Braylon Staley was one of the SEC’s best freshmen.
However, apparently none warranted being mentioned in ESPN’s list of 100 top players from the 2025 season. Bill Connelly, David Hale, Adam Rittenberg and Max Olson put together a list of the top 100 players from the season, and not a single Tennessee player made the list.
Tennessee shut out of ESPN’s list of top 100 college football players from 2025 season
Of all of Tennessee’s players, Brazzell absolutely deserved to find himself on the list, and his exclusion is particularly difficult to understand. He was one of two SEC receivers to top 1000 receiving yards (1017), and he led the SEC in receiving yards per game (84.75) and was tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns with nine. His six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns in the Vols’ 44-41 overtime loss to Georgia was one of the most impressive individual performances by any player in the nation.
Aguilar also unquestionably deserved mention on the list. He led all SEC quarterbacks with 3565 passing yards, just ahead of Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. He threw for 371 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions against Georgia, the most passing yards the Dawgs allowed all season.
Hood and Staley also warranted mention, as did RB DeSean Bishop. Hood, who came over last offseason from Colorado, came up huge for Tennessee’s defense in the absence of Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III. Staley was sixth in receiving yards (837) in the conference as a redshirt freshman, helping him earn SEC Freshman of the Year honors from the conference’s head coaches. And DeSean Bishop finished in the top five in the SEC in rushing yards (1076 – fourth) and rushing touchdowns (16 – tied for second).
I’d say a lot of the list was based on perception (i.e., winning teams), but there were plenty of names of players on losing teams, so I can’t really explain it.
In any event, it should at least give Bishop and Staley a little bit more added motivation going into important 2026 season in Knoxville, with Hood and Brazzell II off to the NFL and Aguilar’s eligibility likely expired.
This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Jan 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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