Jeremiah James Telander (born February 5, 2005) is an American college football linebacker for the Tennessee Volunteers. He was given the nickname "Power T" by Volunteers coach William Inge.
Early life & high school career Telander grew up in Gainesville, Georgia and attended North Hall High School before transferring to Gainesville High School as a senior. During high school, he played football, basketball, and ran track. While playing at North Hall, he earned back-to-back Region 7-AAA Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2020 and 2021. As a senior, Telander led Gainesville to a 14-1 record and an appearance in the Georgia Class 6A State Championship game, where he contributed 13 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and blocked two PATs. He committed to the Vols in June 2022 after compiling more than 25 Division I offers, including 18 from Power Five programs.
Telander enrolled early and joined the Volunteers in practices for the 2022 Orange Bowl.
College career As a freshman at Tennessee, Telander played in all 13 games as a reserve linebacker and on special teams. He led all freshman on the team in tackles with 35. The following season, he worked his way into starting role at middle linebacker and final eight games of the season, including Tennessee's first College Football Playoff berth. In 2025, he started every game and ranked second on the team with a career-best 80 total tackles.
On February 4, 2026, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) announced that Telander had been named to the 2026 SEC Football Leadership Council.
Statistics Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GPGS Total Solo Ast Sack PD Int Yds TD FF FR TD2023Tennessee1303515200.01000000 2024Tennessee 138 43 20 23 0.5 1 0 0 0 0 30 2025Tennessee 1313 80 28 52 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 00Career 3921 158 63 95 1.5 3 1 0 0 0 30
Personal life Telander is the son of Steven and Angela Telander and has a sister, Grace. His father played college football at UMass before spending time as an assistant coach at Missouri, Bowling Green, UTEP and UMass.
References
External links Tennessee Volunteers bio