Tennessee's 2017 Opponents, Part 2

• Alabama: If you're looking for a bunch of good news for Tennessee in this one, I'm sorry in advance. A quarterback? Check. Running backs? Definitely check. Wide receivers? Yep. An offensive line? Is the Pope Catholic? Yeah, the bottom line is that this is set to be quite a good offense, even with a new offensive coordinator. Jalen Hurts is an early favorite to be first team All-SEC. Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough are a dynamic 1-2 punch at running back. Calvin Ridley is still looking to breakout at receiver, but he was very good last year, catching 72 passes for 769 yards and 7 touchdowns. Cam Sims and Robert Foster will be part of the plan to replace Gehrig Dieter and ArDarius Stewart, who combined for 69 receptions, 1,078 yards, and 12 touchdowns. The talented seniors have shown flashes of the players they can be, but they'll have to hold of younger players like Jerry Jeudy, who has already made some noise since his arrival on campus. Lengthy freshman Tyrell Shavers may be another player to keep an eye on. While finding wide receivers to toss to and running backs may not be an issue, tight end may prove to be. Replacing the production of O.J. Howard will likely take more than just a single player, and Hale Hentges and Miller Forristall look to be among the top candidates to try and provide production from the tight end spot. The staff would no doubt like to see those two pushed for the role, either by one of two freshmen (Major Tennison, Kedrick James) or one of the returning players, the best candidate being Irv Smith. The offensive line appears to be just fine. Perhaps not as proven as offensive lines in the past, but certainly one that should be able to keep Hurts upright and create holes for the backs. The defense has a few more questions. Da'Shawn Hand and Da'Ron Payne are proven commodities entering starting roles for the first time, and they look to be joined by massive but unproven Raekwon Davis. While the top three options all look very good, beyond Isaiah Buggs the depth  needs to materialize more than it has up to this point. Still, as long as three of the top four are healthy I expect them to be pretty strong. Terrell Lewis, formerly Hall, looks very much like the type of elite pass rushing outside linebackers Alabama is accustomed to having. Christian Miller is a similar player likely to fit in at the Sam linebacker. Anfernee Jennings looked good in limited opportunities last season and should fill in as the new Jack linebacker. Lots of talent here, but mostly unproven. The inside linebackers are Shaun Dion Hamilton and Rashaan Evans. They are proven. They are good. They are a problem for opposing offenses. In the secondary, Anthony Averett, Trevon Diggs, and Tony Brown look to handle the corner and Star/nickel duties. Averett and Brown are relatively proven commodities, but Diggs is a bit of an unknown. He's getting an opportunity at corner due to the fact that the Alabama staff is looking at Minkah Fitzpatrick at strong safety, a role he could excel in. If Diggs were to struggle, it's possible Fitzpatrick could be moved back to corner, but that would likely move unproven safety Deionte Thompson to strong safety. Ronnie Harrison returns to man the free safety spot, where he is a strong early candidate for All-SEC honors and maybe even national recognition. Redshirt senior Andy Pappanastos is the likely new placekicker, and JK Scott returns to provide one last season of booming punts. Trevon Diggs is the early leader to handle both punt and kickoff return duties.
• Kentucky: Kentucky is one of the few programs to have released an official preseason depth chart, so this is one situation where there is really no guesswork. Stephen Johnson will continue to be the top man at quarterback, and while the Wildcats would love to see him progress further, he wasn't bad last year, passing for 2,037 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions while also running for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns. Benny Snell returns at running back having rushed for 1,091 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Sihiem King will be called upon to provide a strong #2 runner to Snell, but he's thus far done relatively little. Starting receivers Dorian Baker and Garrett Johnson return, but it's hard to oversell the loss of Jeff Badet as a graduate transfer to Oklahoma. Badet averaged 21.6 yards per receptions last year and caught four touchdowns. Tavin Richardson and Charles Walker were listed as the other likely starters at receiver, but a couple of true freshmen in Isaiah Epps and Josh Ali have impressed early. When the Wildcats use a tight end, C.J. Conrad is expected to retain his starting job, shadowed by Greg Hart as he was last season. Offensive tackles Cole Mosier and Kyle Meadows return along with right guard Nick Haynes and center Bunchy Stallings. Haynes is facing some stiff competition from tackle turned guard George Asafo-Adjei, who would be the third starter at least six feet tall if he does win the job. Left tackle Cole Mosier is also facing some competition at left tackle as Landon Young, a lengthy sophomore, has been getting significant first team reps as well. Logan Stenberg, who was named to the freshman All-SEC team, is set to take over at left guard after playing in 12 games for the Wildcats last year as a key reserve. This could be a very good offense if the receivers can come through for Johnson. The defensive line for Kentucky currently consists of starters Adrian Middleton, Naquez Pringle, and T.J. Carter. Middleton and Pringle are returning starters from last season with Carter stepping up following graduations and dismissals ahead of him. Josh Allen returns at strongside linebacker after posting 62 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 7 sacks last season. Hybrid DE/OLB Denzil Ware is back as well after posting 70 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks himself. The inside linebackers were two of the top three tacklers for Kentucky last year, combining for 185 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks. In the secondary, second leading tackler Mike Edwards returns to lead the group at strong safety, joined by returning starters Chris Westry and Derrick Baity at corner (both are 6-3 or taller). Former 4-star recruit Darius West appears poised to finally emerge at free safety after returning from an injury last season. Senior Kendall Randolph is the projected starter at nickel when they go to that look. Sure-legged kicker Austin MacGinnis is back along with punter Grant McKinniss, who will need to display more power this season. Sihiem King and Charles Walker should continue to handle kickoff and punt return duties respectively. 
• Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles said goodbye to last year's starting quarterback Nick Mullens, who signed a UDFA contract with San Francisco. They appear poised to turn the keys to the offense over to JUCO transfer Kwadra Griggs, although last year's #2 Keon Howard continues to compete for the job. Griggs has talent, but he's far from a finished product, showing severe accuracy issues at times throughout his JUCO stay. The same has been true of Howard, however, so Griggs, the bigger, stronger quarterback, looks like the current answer. Regardless of who wins the job, expect them to lean heavily on senior running back Ito Smith, who has piled up 3,2123 yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Smith is also an accomplished receiver, catching 100 passes for 1,050 yards and 5 touchdowns.  Junior Tez Parks and senior George Payne will help to carry the load along with Smith. Top returning receiver Allenzae Staggers is back and should provide a nice security blanket to the quarterback. He will be joined by Korey Robertson and Isaiah Jones, who combined last year for 57 receptions, 768 yards, and 5 touchdowns. At tight end, Julian Allen and Jay'Shawn Washington will man the duties. The tackles have SEC size, and right tackle Ty Pollard has a year as the starter under his belt. Devin Farrior has plenty of experience and should be a steadying presence in the middle of the offensive line as he is the only player returning with more than 13 starts under his belt. The Eagles offensive line has to be viewed as a question mark at best. Defensive end Xavier Thigpen will lead the defensive line as the only returning player who started every game last season. The tackles combined for 11 starts last year, and projected starting end Paxton Schrimsher had no starts and limited production last season. Sherrod Ruff was productive last year in mostly a reserve role at linebacker and he will now look to take hold of a starter's job. Jeremy Sangster is the other likely linebacker, although he had a similar season to Schrimsher last year. Travarius Moore and Demetrius Market are the projected new safeties. Moore had two interceptions last year in limited play, but Market was considerably less productive. Nickel Picasso Nelson is back and should be a leader for the secondary after finishing third last year in tackles. Starting corner Cornell Armstrong is back and will be joined by part-time starter Curtis Mikell. The projected starters in the secondary combined for 7 interceptions last season. JUCO transfer Tyler Flathau is expected to take over the punting duties and will compete with returning placekicker Parker Shaunfield for the kickoff duties. Tez Parks and Allenzae Staggers are likely to maintain their jobs returnign kickoffs and punts respectively. 
• Missouri: Mizzou fans are looking for anything to be positive about after a 4-8 season that saw them only win two SEC games, and there are some reasons to expect improvement. Most of that positivity has to be centered around the returning talent on offense, beginning with quarterback Drew Lock, who needs to improve on his completion percentage but otherwise had a good season under center, passing for nearly 3,400 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions. Lock keeps getting better, and last year he added the ability to take advantage of open field with his legs when the defense leaves him room to run rushing for 123 yards and a touchdown. At running back, Missouri appears to be in good hands with Damarea Crockett and Ish Witter, who combined for 1,812 yards and 16 touchdowns on 315 carries, with Crockett averaging an impressive 6.9 yards per carry. The top four receivers return this season, having combined for 152 receptions, 2,341 yards, and 15 touchdowns. Kendall Blanton is back as the starting tight end after catching 16 passes for 161 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first year as the starter, and the 6-6, 265-pounder is likely to only improve. The running backs weren't much of a factor in the passing game last year. Jonah Dubinski steps in to start at center after starting the last two games there last season. Tackles Paul Adams and Tyler Howell return after being part of an OL that allowed the fewest tackles for loss in the nation and fewest sacks allowed in the SEC. Guards Adam Ploudre and Kevin Pendleton are also back after garning the bulk of the starts at guard a year ago. Bottom line, any defense had better be darn good to handle this offense. Defensively, there aren't many sure things beyond Anthony Sherrils, Marcell Frazier, Terry Buckner Jr., Cale Garrett, Eric Beisel, and Brandon Lee. That's a defensive end, a defensive tackle, a safety, and three linebackers who are probably sure things to start. The secondary could see the faces change week-to-week, and redshirt freshman defensive end Tre Williams may ultimately take the other end spot that is currently projected to be handled by walk-on Jordan Harold. A.J. Logan is the favorite for the other defensive tackle spot, but Rashad Brandon will push him for the job. I don't see this defense getting better. If anything, it might be worse, which means the offense either has to be even better to reach a .500 season. It's possible, but right now I think 5-7 might be the safer bet. They have winnable non-conference games, so if they find 2 SEC wins again a bowl game might be in the cards. 
• Louisiana State: One of the big questions each of the last several seasons for LSU has been the quarterback. This season, the answer appears to be fairly definitive unless the true freshman Myles Brennan pulls of a coup. Danny Etling was the starter for the Tigers for ten games last season, throwing for 11 touchdowns against 5 interceptions while completing 59.5% of his passes. Etling also ran for a touchdown last year. While he's not exactly the most dynamic of passers, he proved efficient last season. However, if LSU is going to take a step forward from last season's 8-4 record, they need better than efficient at the quarterback position, and Myles Brennan is a dynamic passer and capable runner, completing 67.3% of his passes over three seasons in high school for 15,027 yards, 165 touchdowns, and just 25 interceptions while running for 1,141 yards and 23 touchdowns on 188 carries. Brennan has impressed so far in camp, and if he ends up being the starter the offense of the Bayou Bengals could be deadly. At running back, Derrius Guice is so good he became a household name while sharing carries with Leonard Fournette. Darrel Williams is back as well after serving as a very capable third man for the last couple seasons. Speaking of Fournette, his younger brother Lanard has been making strides to earn more carries in camp along with Nick Brossette. Unless the offensive line collapses, the Tigers are dangerous on the ground. Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural are gone, leaving D.J. Chark as the most proven receiver for the Tigers. Russell Gage looks likely to start alongside him at this time, but elite defensive back recruit JaCoby Stevens has moved from safety to receiver and he's certainly capable there as evidenced by his 34 receptions for 689 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior in high school. LSU is struggling right now to find wide receivers, which isn't good news regardless of who the quarterback might be. Foster Moreau may have to be a big part of the equation as far as sparking the passing game is concerned from his tight end spot. Soooo...about that offensive line that I said something about collapsing...it's not looking great right now. Will Clapp is the most proven offensive lineman, and he's moving from guard to center this season. K.J. Malone was the starting left tackle last season, and he looked very good as a run blocker and serviceable as a pass blocker. Beyond those two, there's pretty much little to no experience and most of that offensive line will be unproven. Quality depth also appears to be an issue. How about that defense though, right? Well, Arden Key is still in limbo to some degree as he recovers from a shoulder surgery. Greg Gilmore is back to man the nose tackle spot, and Christian LaCouture is back from injury to man one of the end spots and Frank Herron is expected to step up and take hold of the other spot. If Key is healthy, he should man one of the outside linebacker spots with Corey Thompson and K'Lavon Chaisson competing for the other spot. Devin White and Donnie Alexander are the current favorites to man the inside spots, but keep an eye on Jacob Phillips to make a run at one of those spots as a true freshman. Donte Jackson returns at one of the corner spots, and Kevin Toliver II returns to health and should take over the other starting spot. John Battle should handle the starting duties at strong safety after starting seven games a year ago, but there is still plenty of concern over how the Tigers will replace Jamal Adams. If freshman Grant Delpit, who has continued to encroach on a starting job, can take one, look for him to handle the strong safety role and Battle to move over to free, which might be the best case scenario. Kickoff specialist Cameron Gamble returns as does punter Josh Growden. The placekicker job is open, but look for redshirt Connor Culp to handle the duties. Donte Jackson may add punt return duties to his already existing kick return duties.
• Vanderbilt: Kyle Shurmur is going to be the starting quarterback again, but Vandy fans hope he'll be a better version of himself. He has talent, but he's thrown 14 touchdowns to 13 interceptions so far in his career and has yet to surpass 3,000 yards passing through 18 starts. In Shurmur's defense, his receivers haven't been great up to this point, but his top 9 receivers are back from last season so there's reason for optimism. Vanderbilt's top two rushers return from last season, and they're a pretty good duo, combining for 347 carries, 1,732 yards, and 23 touchdowns. Ralph Webb is a dynamic open-field runner with the toughness to run between the tackles, while Khari Blasingame is a big back who will fearlessly run it up the middle. The right side of Vanderbilt's offensive line returns, but they will have new starters at center, left guard, and left tackle. How well those spots get filled will have a lot to say about how well the offense performs. The nose tackle and one defensive end are back. Jonathan Wynn and Nifae Lealao were solid but unspectacular last season. Dare Odeyingbo was solid last season and will be the top candidate to replace sack leader Adam Butler at the other end spot. Oren Burks is the only regular starter back at linebacker. There are a lot of questions surrounding this group as Charles Wright was the best of the new starters with 13 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. Corner Tre Herndon returns as do starting safeties LaDarius Wiley and Ryan White. Arnold "Tre" Tarpley is also a strong safety candidate who has been very productive when on the field. Sophomore corner Joejuan Williams is expected to step in for the departed Torren McGaster, who signed a UDFA deal with the Bengals.  Placekicker Tommy Openshaw is back as is punter Sam Loy. Both were solid last year. Kalija Lipscomb returns to handle punt returns, but finding a replacement for departed kick returner Darrius Sims may prove a tall task. Ralph Webb may be the best option if the team is willing to risk him on special teams.