By Jimmy Hyams
The Tennessee men’s basketball team was picked to finish 13th in the SEC by a panel of SEC voters.
But the Vols won a share of the SEC championship last season thanks to several players showing significant improvement – like Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield and Lamonte Turner.
The Vols’ football team has been picked to finish sixth in the SEC East in some circles. Oddsmaker Danny Sheridan said the Vols are one of the 15 worst teams among the Power 5. Others have forecast a 5-7 season for the once football power.
Can the UT football team surprise folks like the basketball team?
Not to that extent. But it can win a game or two more than expected.
To do that, I’ve identified six Vols that must have good to great years for Tennessee to record a winning season.
- Quarterback. Odds favor Jarrett Guarantano. He has the strongest arm on the team and appears more confident, more poised and quicker to make decisions. Right now, it would be hard to rank Guarantano higher than ninth among SEC quarterbacks. But if he plays his way into being one of the top six signal callers in the league, that could be another win or two for the Vols.
- Wide receiver Jauan Jennings. Jennings missed all but one game last year due to a wrist injury and has worked his way back on the team from a November dismissal. He caught 40 passes for 580 yards in 2016 – including the Hail Mary in the Georgia win. A return to form will help an offensive that lacks playmakers.
- Left tackle Drew Richmond. Considered by some a five-star coming out of high school, Richmond has played more like a three-star. If he emerges at left tackle and plays to his high school rankings, that would not only solidify the blind side of the quarterback, but free Tennessee to play its best offensive lineman – Trey Smith – at guard or right tackle. And that could only make the line that much better.
- Inside linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. Kirkland was a freshman All-American in 2015 but knee injuries have hampered his development and he missed all of last season. He had 66 tackles as a freshman. He had 44 tackles during an injury-plagued 2016. He didn’t play last year. If he returns to form, that will solidify a talented group of linebackers.
- Nose tackle Shy Tuttle. In the 3-4 defense, you need a solid inside run stopper. Tuttle fits that bill, if he can stay healthy. If he’s hurt, UT doesn’t really have a backup nose tackle of any note. That’s why Tuttle is so important to this defensive line. In the 4-3 Tuttle can shift to tackle. A big year from him will help a run defense that has been pitiful the last two years.
- Outside linebacker Jonathan Kongbo. A five-star junior college defensive end, Kongbo has been a major disappointment. Maybe it wasn’t fair to rank someone so high who hadn’t played much football. But Kongbo has the physical appearance and skill to make you think he should be a stud on the field. If Kongbo becomes a disrupter at outside linebacker, the defense will be that much better.
Bottom line, if UT can stay relatively healthy and if those six emerge and have solid seasons, Tennessee without a doubt will be a bowl-bound team and might even get to seven wins – possibly eight depending on the bowl opponent.
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