Ohio State quarterback Will Howard ridiculed Tennessee football players for warming up shirtless before their College Football Playoff game during a conversation with Jon Gruden.

It was part of Gruden’s QB Class on Barstool Sports, where the former coach breaks down game film with quarterback prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Gruden, who spoke at Tennessee’s coaching clinic last week, set up Howard for the punchline by showing him video of ring warm-ups for their CFP game against Ohio State on a cold night in Columbus on Dec. 21.

Howard chuckled and ripped the Vols for their stunt amid the 25-degree temperature.

“The funny thing is that they came out with their shirts off, and they ran over to the opposite end zone and immediately put them back on,” Howard said. “I was like, ‘What the (expletive) are these clowns doing, man?’ At that moment, I knew we had them.”

Howard was right on both counts. UT’s players put their shirts on soon after taking the field, and Ohio State won 42-17 to start a national title run.

But there’s some missing context. The Vols put their shirts back on because an NCAA rule requires that players wear shirts that display their jersey number during warm-ups. Nevertheless, they lost the mind game and then the actual game.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Emailadam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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