Tennessee’s director of athletics sets the record straight on the Vols canceling their football series

The Tennessee Volunteers will not participate in their scheduled football series with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It was reported on Friday by ESPN's Pete Thamel that the game is being canceled.

"Sources: Tennessee and Nebraska are canceling their upcoming football series, which was schedule for 2026 in Lincoln and 2027 in Knoxville. A driver of the move was Nebraska wanting eight home games in 2027 when they expected reduced stadium capacity because of renovations," Thamel wrote.

While the initial post on X (formerly Twitter) from Thamel did not specify which team was responsible for the cancelation, it was quickly clarified by the Volunteers' director of athletics, Danny White, that the Cornhuskers canceled the games. He expressed disappointment in the decision:

"Correction: Tennessee is not canceling this series. Nebraska did. We are very disappointed that they didn’t want to play these games, especially this close to 2026."

It is poor timing for the Volunteers. Not only will the fans not get to watch a matchup they enjoy viewing every year, but Tennessee will need to rush to find opponents for both the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

The Tennessee Volunteers suffer a setback on the recruitment trail

The Tennessee Volunteers are dealing with several issues at the moment. The cancelation of games by Nebraska is frustrating, and they have also recently learned disappointing news from a prospective recruit.

They have already successfully recruited a few in-state players in the 2026 class. However, another target for them was defensive back Justin Hopkins. He announced on Monday that he is committing to Minnesota.

After the announcement, Hopkins spoke with On3. He told them that he chose Minnesota because of the coaching staff.

"Every time I talked to another school, it just couldn't compare to how I felt when I talked with the Minnesota coaches," Hopkins told On3. "Coach Monroe came down twice, coach Fleck came down once, and there was no comparison for me."

Hopkins attends Ensworth High School in Nashville and opted to leave the state. He chose Minnesota over offers from USC, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee.

"Tennessee and Vanderbilt are places I have been to a lot," Hopkins said. "I had a great time at USC too, but the feeling about Minnesota was different. I felt strong about them, and it is the place for me."

While the Volunteers missed out on Hopkins, they have commitments from three other four-star Tennessee prospects, Tyreek King, Carson Sneed and Gabriel Osenda.