By Vince Ferrara

Quarterbacks at Tennessee is today’s early summer position focus as I look at the Tennessee football team.

This is the 1st in a series of nine straight days of separate posts by position. Check my blog page daily here at SportsRadioWNML.com for the other positions.

My current projected starters are in bold. I’ve listed the average star rating entering college from the four major recruiting websites (Rivals, 247Sports, Scout and ESPN.)

Vince’s View

Quarterbacks
12        Quinten Dormady             JR       6’4       216     4*
2          Jarrett Guarantano             R-FR  6’4       205     4*
7          Will McBride                       FR       6’1       195     3*

Position summary:  Sheriron Jones’ transfer leaves only three scholarship QBs. The focus for this group and the team is the quarterback competition between Dormady and Guarantano. Both are talented guys that I think will be able to offset some of Joshua Dobbs’ production. The hope is they can do that with more passing accuracy and big-plays from the pocket than with Dobbs. His escape-ability and running threat are unlikely to even be approached by either guy. Even though nothing has been declared, and won’t be until game week in my opinion, Dormady has the slight lead in the race to start. Barring a major summer improvement from Guarantano, it should remain that way.

Guarantano has great arm talent and drive to be great. The things he needs to improve on won’t come until he gets real game experience (getting rid of the ball quicker, coverage decisions, being a more vocal leader in games, etc.)

New QBs coach Mike Canales has paid-off in recruiting future QBs to the Vols already. He’s also been a positive for these two QBs. They received so much more detailed attention from a field coach than a year ago. He likes both guys, and really I do too. This position is not one of my main worries about this football team. Sure, there will be mistakes from inexperience, but I’ll take talent and the upside potential any day. If one of these guys turn out to be special, it’s a game-changer, a season-changer and a program changer. That’s why you roll with talent.

I think Butch Jones will pick a starter and play the back-up in late-game blow-out situations, if the starter’s play is really bad or because of an injury. He prefers one guy, but is willing to switch. I just don’t see him starting out with a two-QB rotation and let the game play determine the starter moving forward. If it is really close, that’s what I would do. Don’t expect that here though.

Hope you enjoyed my review of the University of Tennessee football quarterbacks as we sit here in June. Go to my blog page for the rest of the position breakdowns. I have much more to say on UT football than this. Listen for me on Sports Radio WNML, call in and let’s talk some football. Thanks for reading and sharing.

Follow me on Twitter @VinceSports with the same handle on Instagram and VinceSports1 on Facebook.

By Vince Ferrara

Defensive Backs at Tennessee is today’s early summer position focus as I look at the Tennessee football team.

This is the 8th in a series of nine straight days of separate posts by position. Check my blog page daily here at SportsRadioWNML.com for the other positions.

My current projected starters are in bold. I’ve listed the average star rating entering college from the four major recruiting websites (Rivals, 247Sports, Scout and ESPN.)

Vince’s View

Defensive Backs
LCB
12        Emmanuel Moseley           SR      5’11    180     3*
3          Marquill Osborne                 SO      5’11     188     4*
15        Shawn Shamburger             FR       5’11     190     3*
RCB
6          Shaq Wiggins                      R-SR  5’10    173     4*
8          Justin Martin                         SR      6’1       183     4*
38        DJ Henderson                      SR      6’1       180     3*
–           Terrell Bailey                         FR       5’11     180     3*
N-CB
7          RaShaan Gaulden              R-JR   6’1       185     3*
28        Baylen Buchanan               SO      5’11     190     3*
9          Cheyenne Labruzza             FR       5’11     190     3*
FS
18        Nigel Warrior                       SO      6’0       186     4*
29        Evan Berry                            SR      5’11     207     4*
10        Theo Jackson                       FR       6’2       175     3*
SS
24        Todd Kelly Jr.                      SR      5’11    208     4*
22        Micah Abernathy                 JR       6’0       195     4*
4          Maleik Gray                           FR       6’2       195     4*

Position summary:  I’m pretty confident Louisville grad transfer Shaq Wiggins will come right in and start at one corner for the Vols. With the addition of Wiggins, the corners alone have 50 starts of experience. Quality of play is the problem. Looking at tape of Wiggins at Louisville and Georgia, he has the ability to play either side, but I penciled him in at RCB since I saw him there the most in games I saw.

No cornerbacks seized starting spots this spring. Justin Martin was complimented some, and we enjoyed finally being able to interview him, but will that improvement carry over into games or earn him the other starting spot? Moseley is a touch more consistent and a regular with the first team, so I went with him to start for now. Buchanan looked good as a freshmen initially when forced into playing time due to injuries, but then he took his lumps the rest of the way. I like Osborne’s competitiveness, strength and swagger.

Could a freshmen get in the mix like Labruzza, who I think has great upside and athleticism or Shamburger or Bailey? Labruzza could get a look at the nickel position, but he’d be stuck behind returning starter RaShaan Gaulden.

Will new DBs coach Charlton Warren look to experiment with some guys at new positions? Warren has to get this group going though. Too often, Shoop took chances with the blitz, and the guys on the back-end weren’t good enough to hold-up in many ways.

Safety has much better options for this Volunteers defense. Todd Kelly Jr. is the leader of the secondary, and one of the overall team leaders. I think Nigel Warrior is an emerging star. UT needs his play-making, ball-skills and decisiveness at that second safety spot. I think he starts over Micah Abernathy. True freshman Maleik Gray is another potential star safety. How much will he get in the mix. Evan Berry has seen some reserve time at safety as well. This is a solid group overall.

Hope you enjoyed my review of the University of Tennessee football defensive backs as we sit here in June. Go to my blog page for the rest of the position breakdowns. I have much more to say on UT football than this. Listen for me on Sports Radio WNML, call in and let’s talk some football. Thanks for reading and sharing.

Follow me on Twitter @VinceSports with the same handle on Instagram and VinceSports1 on Facebook.

By Vince Ferrara

Defensive Line at Tennessee is today’s early summer position focus as I look at the Tennessee football team.

This is the 6th in a series of nine straight days of separate posts by position. Check my blog page daily here at SportsRadioWNML.com for the other positions.

My current projected starters are in bold. I’ve listed the average star rating entering college from the four major recruiting websites (Rivals, 247Sports, Scout and ESPN.)

Vince’s View

Defensive Line
LDE
1          Jonathan Kongbo              R-JR   6’6       270     4*
5          Kyle Phillips                          JR       6’4       259     5*
94        Mykelle McDaniel                R-FR  6’3       220     3*
44        Ryan Thaxton                       FR       6’4       220     3*
–            Marquez Bembry                  FR       6’2       215     3*
LDT
99        Kahlil McKenzie                  JR       6’3       325     5*
2          Shy Tuttle                              JR       6’2       311     4*
55        Quay Picou                           JR       6’1       277     3*
27        Eric Crosby                           FR       6’1       325     4*
RDT
39        Kendal Vickers                   R-SR  6’3       295     2*
98        Alexis Johnson                    R-JR   6’4       295     4*
97        Paul Bain                              R-JR   6’5       290 *walk-on
95        Kivon Bennett                      FR       6’2       285     3*
RDE
19        Darrell Taylor                      R-SO  6’4       240     4*
13        Deandre Johnson               FR       6’4       235     3*
48        Ja’Quain Blakely                 R-FR  6’2       230     3*
56        Matthew Butler                     FR       6’4       285     3*

Position summary:  As you can see, this is very big group in number of bodies. Unfortunately, there are tons of questions inside and outside. DT Kendal Vickers has 26 of the 31 total starts for 19 players, scholarship and walk-ons, on the defensive line. This is a group that needs to improve with new DL coach Brady Hoke and new strength and conditioning coach Rock Gullickson.

At end, UT’s all-time sack leader, Derek Barnett, must be replaced not only in production but in snaps. He rarely came off the field. You’re next two top ends, Corey Vereen and LaTroy Lewis, are gone as well. Likely stepping into starting roles are Jonathan Kongbo and Darrell Taylor. Kongbo started 2 games at defensive tackle at the end of last season, but has now moved back to his more natural end position where he wanted to play all along. Taylor has been a light rotational player who’s appeared in 8 games his first two playing seasons. Teammates have always referred to him as a freak athlete. Taylor looked good this spring, but starting and playing three or four times the snaps is a different story. After that, there’s 5-star Kyle Phillips who has had an injury and inconsistency plagued career, early enroll true freshman Deandre Johnson and four more freshmen. That’s a lot of hoping for the best.

Inside at tackle, you feel good about veteran Kendal Vickers returning from missing spring practice as a starter. I have Kahlil McKenzie listed as a starter ahead of Shy Tuttle because of the expectation that Tuttle won’t be healthy enough by the season opener. That remains to be seen. Health and level of play are unknowns for both McKenzie, a 5-star signee in 2015, and Tuttle. Tuttle has been better when healthy, but I don’t think he was as good last year before he got hurt as he was before the broken leg two years ago. Spring first teamers Alexis Johnson and Quay Picou are unknowns. I think true freshman DT Eric Crosby is the closest to being physically ready to contribute among the five summer enrolls on the defensive line. I think Crosby is a top 3 impact player on this year’s team from the summer freshmen enrolls.

The development and health of this position group is more connected to UT’s team success this year than even the quarterbacks.

Hope you enjoyed my review of the University of Tennessee football defensive line as we sit here in June. Go to my blog page for the rest of the position breakdowns. I have much more to say on UT football than this. Listen for me on Sports Radio WNML, call in and let’s talk some football. Thanks for reading and sharing.

Follow me on Twitter @VinceSports with the same handle on Instagram and VinceSports1 on Facebook.