KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee will cap off the spring season with another installment of the Orange & White Game on Saturday, Apr. 12 in front of a limited-capacity Neyland Stadium. There will be 10,000 fans in attendance during this year's game due to construction.
The game will feature returning players fitting into new roles and will also showcase incoming freshmen and younger players whom fans have not been able to see much of to this point.
The returning players will be headlined by sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who led the Vols to a Citrus Bowl victory over Iowa in his first-ever collegiate start last season.
Fan-favorite Squirrel White will lead a wide receiver unit, but he may also slot in as the Vols' primary return man to replace Dee Williams, who declared for the NFL Draft. Special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler said he feels comfortable knowing White brings some experience to the guys in the mix for that role.
"Squirrel is not going to back down from anybody. It doesn't matter who it is," Ekeler said. "I think he thinks he's 6'8", 310 (pounds). He thinks he's all jacked up, but that guy has it."
On the other side of the special teams unit, Australian punter Jackson Ross will follow up a season where he was an SEC All-Freshman Team selection is his first-ever year playing American football. The redshirt freshman sophomore can punt with both feet and led a Tennessee punting unit that was top-five in the country, and Ekeler expects even more from Ross this season.
"We've developed a system around his skill set. He's probably the only guy in the country that can kick it equally well with his right and left foot," Ekeler said. "I told you guys he was going to be a weapon. It's what he is."
Dylan Sampson will assume the role of feature back in the Tennessee offense with Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright declaring for the NFL Draft. Running back Cameron Seldon will compete for the backup role, but he will miss the Orange and White Game following shoulder surgery early in the spring practice session. That may pave the way for Knoxville native and Karns graduate DeSean Bishop to get more playing time during the Orange and White Game. New running backs coach De'Rail Sims has referred to Bishop as a "spark plug" in the running backs group.
"I call him the spark plug," Sims said. "He has done a really good job from practice one, to where we are today, getting better at practice. He is intentional about coming into the meetings and asking questions. He is intentional about taking notes in the meeting room. When he gets out here on the field he does a really good job of executing at a high level. Even if he makes a mistake he does it going at 100 miles per hour. He will come over to the sideline and ask questions like, 'Coach what did I do wrong?' He never makes the same mistake twice in that situation in team period so he is doing a good job."
The 2024 Orange and White Game is set to begin at 1 p.m. on April 12 at Neyland Stadium. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ for those who cannot attend in person.
