Back in 2010, sitting in the lobby of the cramped offices of a radio station in Knoxville, former Tennessee wide receiver Jayson Swain furrowed his brow to prepare for a broadcast.
But did he consider himself media?
Nah.
Almost 16 years later, Swain doesn’t just identify as a member of the media; he’s flourishing in that career. On Thursday, Swain was announced as the new analyst for Vol Network broadcasts of Tennessee football games.
“It means everything,” Swain said in a telephone interview with I-81 Sports on Friday. “I’ve been in this business for over a decade and a half. A lot of it I had to build myself or I was on a smaller station. The last four years I’ve been on the flagship station. The other 12 years I was building my own brand, my own show, independently, or working on smaller stations.
“The connection with that fan base is what kept me going and reminded me that I was serving a purpose,” Swain added. “Because there are many people that would use our show to escape. Just like people use sports to escape.”
Swain replaces another Vol alum, Ramon Foster, in that role after Foster left to become the new analyst on Tennessee Titans radio broadcasts.
“When I caught wind that Ramon was moving on to the Titans, I figured that this was an opportunity I couldn’t really pass up,” Swain said. “I didn’t know if it was something I wanted to do. I had so much respect for the position and so many guys that did a great job before me. Once I saw it firsthand, I knew I could do it.”
Swain said he expressed his interest in the job, and did a couple of practice broadcasts as an audition. “I heard nothing for a long time. They were, I’m sure, taking a lot of calls from people, telling them how interested they were. Yesterday I was surprised with the news just like everybody else was.”
Mike Keith, the current “Voice of the Vols”, made a surprise appearance on Swain’s afternoon radio show to announce the news in person.
Swain, who played for Tennessee from 2003-06, already was part of the Vol football broadcasts. He became sideline reporter late in the 2021 season. Last year, he shifted to an analyst role and was in the broadcast booth for the pregame, halftime, and postgame radio shows.
“When I had the opportunity to be the sideline reporter, that opened my eyes to a whole new world of what I could do, the experience I could gain on the radio,” he said. “I’ve always been a student of the game. During the broadcast I would do my best to explain why we were successful or why we were not successful. I look forward to doing that on the broadcast this fall.”
Swain says he will continue his other two endeavors: those being his “Swain Event” podcast, which has been an ongoing media presence in Knoxville since 2009; and “Josh and Swain”, his afternoon radio show on The Sports Animal, which runs weekdays from noon to 3 p.m.
With Tennessee preseason practice scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Swain did a little more “analyst practice” and offered his take on the 2026 Vols.
“I’m a believer in what they can do,” Swain said. “The question is, can they stay healthy with a tough schedule?”
“There is a lot of guys that have a lot of experience on the offensive line,” he added. “That’s kind of where it starts, those trenches, offensive line, defensive line. If you plan on being a serious contender at the end, you’ve got to have the depth in those areas. The question is on whether or not they have it on the defensive line.”
Swain thinks new strength coach Derek Owings, who previously served in that same role for national champion Indiana, is a tremendous addition, calling him the most significant hire in the Southeastern Conference that isn’t a head coach.
“I think they’ll be more physical during the season because they have to be. To prevent what happened last year with some of the games where they got out-physicaled,” Swain said.
Swain also praised the addition of new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.“The linebackers, that’s the most talented, deepest room probably in the country — definitely in the SEC and since Josh Heupel has been here. They invested to get more athletic, more speed, and they did that. [Cornerback] Ty Redmond is coming back after a really strong second half to his season.””
Swain is also impressed with the collection of players at receiver, calling it the deepest receiver corps that Tennessee has had during Heupel’s tenure as coach.
“A lot of experience coming back, a lot of depth, a lot of talent,” Swain said. “At running back, DeSean Bishop separated from the pack last season. He’ll be the bell cow. He’ll be stronger, prepared to take on more of the carries, more of the load.”
Naturally, most of the speculation about the Vols and their fortunes in 2026 revolves around the quarterback position, where Tennessee will field its least experienced starter since the 2004 season, when true freshman Brent Schaeffer took the opening snap. Swain was at that team, which began the campaign with Schaeffer and Erik Ainge splitting QB duty. On this team, just one quarterback will be handling the job. Whomever it is, he’ll be young. And inexperienced.
“With a young quarterback, it’s easier to question what Tennessee is gonna do,” Swain said. “Coach Heupel has proven that he can handle any type of quarterback.
“I’m not really worried about the quarterback situation,” he added. “Stay healthy. Have the leadership to win on your road. Show your discipline.”
In the hours after Swain learned of his new gig, he paid tribute to his friend, Wes Rucker. The two co-hosted a show on ESPN Radio Knoxville in the 2010s. Rucker passed away in February in a car accident.
“When you are unsure of something new, like I was doing radio and doing the media, he gave me advice,” Swain said. “He became a real close family friend. Any time I made a move in this business, whether creating my own brand or getting recognition for it or joining or joining the Sports Animal or Joining the Vol Network, he was always my loudest cheerleader.
“Really, this is for all the people that supported me and believed in me all along,” Swain added. “It’s a ‘we’ accomplishment rather than a ‘me’ accomplishment.”