Tim PriestAfter 22 football seasons at Tennessee that contained 274 games, Tim Priest will no longer provide color commentary for the Vol Radio Network.
The former defensive back of the Volunteers announced his retirement Tuesday, having worked alongside Tennessee play-by-play broadcaster Bob Kesling since the start of the 1999 season. Priest will be replaced by another former Vol player, Pat Ryan, who was a quarterback in Knoxville from 1974-77 before going on to a 13-year NFL career.
Priest cited spending more time with wife Betsy and the two of them now having opportunities on fall weekends to watch the athletic endeavors of their four grandchildren.
"I am most appreciative to the University of Tennessee and the Vol Network for allowing me to be a part of the radio broadcast team going back to 1999," Priest said. "I look forward to supporting my alma mater and to watching the resurgence of Tennessee football under the direction of Josh Heupel and his staff."
Priest racked up a school-record 18 interceptions from 1968-70, with the 1969 Vols winning the Southeastern Conference and the 1970 team going 11-1 and finishing No. 4 nationally. He started with the Vol Network in 1993 by filling in for predecessor Bill Anderson and then became a permanent fixture after John Ward and Anderson retired following Tennessee's 1998 national championship season.
Ryan is certainly no stranger to the Vol Radio Network, having served the past six seasons on the pregame call-in show and for the past 11 years on the weekly "Big Orange Hotline."
"I'm excited and honored to be following in the footsteps of former Vols Bob Foxx, Bill Anderson and Tim Priest in the color analyst role on the Vol Network," Ryan said. "We look forward to having a lot of fun in the radio booth calling Tennessee football games."
Ryan backed up Condredge Holloway, Randy Wallace and Jimmy Streater during his time with the Vols before playing 141 career games with the New York Jets.
Tide scheduling
Alabama on Tuesday announced a home-and-home footbakl series with Oklahoma State, with the 2028 meeting in Stillwater and the 2029 game in Tuscaloosa.
The Crimson Tide have lined up a whopping 11 home-and-home series in recent months with Texas (2022-23), Wisconsin (2024-25), Florida State (2025-26), West Virginia (2026-27), Ohio State (2027-28), Oklahoma State (2028-29), Notre Dame (2029-30), Georgia Tech (2030-31), Oklahoma (2032-33), Arizona (2032-33) and Virginia Tech (2034-35).
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.