Linebackers: No change at the top this time around. This is still the deepest looking group as a whole. No JJ Peterson, no problem right now. Peterson qualifying would just be icing on a very, very nice cake. There is a quality two-deep at linebacker and it's remained fairly settled the entire way. Injuries could be a bit of an issue if they started piling up, but that's really true of any position. This is as strong a group as can be found on the roster. Jonathan Kongbo has the potential to be the breakout star of the group. Darrell Taylor and Jordan Allen have also really shown some potential to be productive pass rushers from linebacker. Grade: A
Running Backs: A group on the move as the top three have really risen to the top of the pecking order. Ty Chandler is still the most explosive of the backs, in addition to being the lightest of the trio. Light is relative here as he is listed at 5-11, 201. Tim Jordan is a bowling ball at running back as he appears to be 100% muscle at 5-11, 203. Competing with Jordan for the #2 job is Madre London, the graduate transfer from Michigan State. London is one of the bigger backs on the roster at 6-1, 213. It will probably still be running back by committee, but these three seem plenty capable of handling the load and handling it well. Grade: A-
Defensive Linemen: Some of the younger guys are stepping up here to keep this group in the top three positions. Kingston Harris got off to a bit of a slower start, but he's really begun to establish himself as a young player in line to play meaningful minutes. Kivon Bennett got a brief look at linebacker for depth purposes but has returned to the defensive line, where he looks like the probable number two behind Kyle Phillips. Emmit Gooden is in line to play a lot of minutes somewhere along the defensive line along with Phillips, Shy Tuttle, and Alexis Johnson. The greatest concern here is having to turn to younger players if injuries pile up, but as far as the two-deep is concerned, it looks fairly promising. Grade: B+
Defensive Backs: I'm giving this group a bump largely because of the safeties/Star group, which looks as deep and high quality as the Vols have had in some time. They can comfortably go into a dime defense and feel relatively comfortable with the two additional defensive backs, both of which seem likely to come from the safety group. Todd Kelly Jr., Theo Jackson, Nigel Warrior, Shawn Shamburger, Cheyenne Labruzza, Micah Abernathy, and Trevon Flowers all look capable of helping out this season if called upon, and Brandon Davis has shown flashes and is possibly only held back by his lack of weight. At corner, things are less promising but not necessarily grim. The top corner options right now appear to be Bryce Thompson, Baylen Buchanan, Alontae Taylor, Kenneth George Jr., and Marquill Osborne. Were the season to start today, I'd anticipate Buchanan and Taylor being the starters with George behind Buchanan and Thompson spelling Taylor. The corner group is relatively young, but Taylor, Thompson, and George bring athleticism that was lacking the last several seasons. Grade: B
Offensive Linemen: Big jump here, and for a good reason: Trey Smith is close to being cleared, is seeing more work, and appears to be helping solidify the offensive line overall. Chance Hall is also coming along, although he's probably not ready to help at all yet. With Smith's impending return, Drew Richmond has moved to right tackle, where he appears to be a better fit. Ryan Johnson has joined him on the right side of the line at guard. Smith and Jahmir Johnson are now the top options at left tackle and the top options at left guard are Jerome Carvin and Riley Locklear, a couple of athletic and aggressive young blockers. Center has become the sure home of graduate transfer Brandon Kennedy. The #2 right tackle is pretty clearly Marcus Tatum right now, and the backup right guard looks likely to be K'Rojhn Calbert. Ollie Lane seems likely to spell Kennedy, but he should play sparingly. Overall, this is probably the best I've felt about a Vol offensive line since Ja'Wuan James, James Stone, Zach Fulton, Tiny Richardson, and Marcus Jackson formed the starting five. Grade: B
Wide Receivers: This group slides a little bit largely because of drops in practice without defenders. Those are balls that just can't hit the ground. Jauan Jennings also hasn't been 100% in camp and it's hard to argue that his health is a major factor in how good this group will be. Marquez Callaway and Brandon Johnson continue to run with the ones, and at times when Jennings has been unavailable Josh Palmer has stepped into a starting role. That seems like the probable starting three for West Virginia, but Jordan Murphy has certainly been flashing in practice and could push Palmer for that third job if Jennings doesn't get healthy in time for week one. Cedric Tillman continues to be an impressive freshman, especially considering his very low recruiting ranking. He continues to look like the steal of the class. The good news is that Latrell Williams and Tyler Byrd have both had strong practices this past week and especially Byrd could compete for playing time this season. Grade: B-
Special Teams: This group has dropped because of some occasional subpar practices, especially for the punters. Both are young, but the two freshmen will have to perform this season as they are the only realistic options to handle the punting duties. The good news is Paxton Brooks was praised today by Pruitt as someone who has been improving, so that bodes well for the punting duties. As far as placekicking goes, not much has been said about the placekickers and that's a good thing. Seldom is a specialist being mentioned because they've done something good in practice. It's generally bad news. There are options to handle return duties, but fans will have to understand that there simply isn't another Evan Berry waiting in the wings. Marquez Callaway and Ty Chandler both have return touchdowns in their careers, but neither has been mentioned much in relation to return duties. This one may have to wait to be revealed until the first depth chart is released. Grade: C+
Quarterbacks: I'd love to tell you this was a group on the rise, but if they are it isn't by much. Keller Chryst has been practicing better, and he's made it a real competition with Jarrett Guarantano for the starting job now. Unfortunately, that also means that neither signal caller has separated themselves. Guarantano will have a strong practice. Then Chryst performs better in the next practice. Back and forth with neither one really taking the reins. The most recent scrimmage saw all four quarterbacks getting equal work according to Pruitt. This really seems like a competition that won't end until the week before the Florida game, so be prepared to see both Chryst and Guarantano get work with the first team against West Virginia, ETSU, and UTEP, and weeks two and three will probably see all four quarterbacks playing at least some minutes. I do think that for the most part Guarantano and Chryst are feeding off one another, and that fact is why I think this group has improved slightly. Even so, it really isn't by much at all. Grade: C
Tight Ends: The group that I also put the fullbacks/H-backs with has dropped to last place because of a severe lack of depth emerging. They can go two-deep at both fullback/H-back and true tight ends, but there's virtually no depth beyond that. So much so that it seems that Princeton Fant's return to working with the tight end group very likely was depth related for those positions. Dominick Wood-Anderson is everything he was billed to be and he might very well be the Vols most productive player from that position since Mychal Rivera. Eli Wolf is the clear #2 tight end and he continues to show good hands and a strong work ethic. He can be explosive as an option to split out into the slot. Ja'Quain Blakely has taken the helm at the fullback spot with Austin Pope also getting extensive work handling those duties. Neither Pope nor Blakely seems like an option to help at tight end if injuries were to occur there, and likely options like James Brown have been limited in camp. LaTrell Bumphus seems best suited for the fullback role, but he could at least provide a big body to help block if needed at tight end. Jacob Warren has the tools to help as a receiver, but he's far too slight to handle the necessary blocking responsibilities. This is a group that is a couple of injuries away from being a liability. Grade: C-
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