College GameDay Heads to Knoxville for Tennessee-Texas; Guest Picker Field Takes Shape

ESPN's college football preview show sets up at Ayres Hall before No. 13 Tennessee hosts No. 1 Texas in the Vols' SEC opener on Sept. 26.

ESPN's College GameDay will broadcast from Knoxville on Sept. 26 as No. 13 Tennessee (3-0) welcomes No. 1 Texas (3-0) for the Volunteers' first SEC game of the season. Coverage begins at 9 a.m. ET on the lawn of Ayres Hall and shifts into Neyland Stadium at 11 a.m. for the closing hour. Kickoff is set for noon ET on ABC.

The biggest question surrounding the show is who will serve as celebrity guest picker. Peyton Manning stands out as the leading candidate, since his nephew Arch Manning quarterbacks the Longhorns against his alma mater. Should Manning pass, other names floated include Kelsea Ballerini, Candace Parker, Morgan Wallen, Kenny Chesney and Dalton Knecht.

Among the alternate possibilities, comedian Kevin Hart has a fresh Tennessee connection: his son Hendrix joined the Vols' track and field team as a freshman this year, and Hart has already taken in a game in Knoxville this fall. Rick Barnes, the Volunteers' men's basketball coach, previously led Texas from 1998 to 2015 and coached Kevin Durant there before being let go and landing at Tennessee.

Stunt performer Johnny Knoxville, a co-creator of Jackass whose franchise released its final film this summer, returned to his alma mater South-Doyle High School in July to open a new weight room. Country singer Ella Langley, now based in Nashville, performs at Food City Center on Sept. 24 before dates in Ohio and Illinois.

WWE star Bianca Belair, a Knoxville native and Austin-East graduate who ran track at Tennessee, previously appeared as guest picker when the show visited for Tennessee-Florida on Sept. 24, 2022. She held the Raw Women's Championship for a record 420 days from 2022-23 and welcomed her first child with Montez Ford in August.