Which Tennessee Position Rooms I Feel Best About, Ranked
Things have changed a lot at several different positions this offseason.
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Sure, it’s only mid-February, but that does not mean that it is too early to be thinking about Tennessee football position rooms going into next season. The quarterback room looks a lot different. The defensive line looks a lot different. The secondary looks a lot different.
Let’s dive into how I feel about each position room at this point in the offseason.
Wide Receiver
This time last year, lots of folks were nervous about this position room. It wasn’t due to a lack of talent, but rather a lack of proven production and, really, a lack of adequate bodies. The Vols were fortunate in more ways than one with this room, as Chris Brazzell II broke out as the lone returning upperclassman, and Braylon Staley proved to be the best all-around slot man head football coach Josh Heupel has had at Tennessee. The Vols earned the benefit of the doubt with this room, particularly with so many blue-chippers in this room that include two returning starters in Staley and Mike Matthews. Since this position group does not rotate like the Vols do on the defensive line, for this to be an elite unit again in 2026, one of Radarious Jackson, Travis Smith Jr., or freshman five-star Tristen Keys needs to pop. I feel pretty good that with how talented all three blue-chip players are, at least one will make it work alongside Staley and Matthews to form a dangerous and fun trio out wide in Knoxville this fall.
Guard & Center
Wendell Moe Jr., Sam Pendleton, and Jesse Perry are all back for the Vols this fall along the interior of the offensive line. The biggest return of that group is Moe, who transferred in from Arizona last season and showcased his versatility at both left and right guard. Moe was the 37th-best guard in FBS last season, per PFF. Pendleton didn’t have quite the debut season in Knoxville after transferring in from Notre Dame, but as a four-star transfer who played a lot of snaps in a very different system than what they run in South Bend, it’s fair to assume a jump there. Perry, who can play tackle or guard, has been a fantastic recruting success story for Elarbee. He more than held his own at right tackle with David Sanders out last year, but the hope this year is that he sticks at right guard or right tackle. Then you still have Sham Umarov, who played a lot of snaps last season back and brought in West Virginia transfer Donovan Haslam for even more proven depth along the interior of the offensive line. We might not know who will be Tennessee’s best five starting offensive linemen just yet, but there is a lot more depth along the interior than at offensive tackle.
Cornerback
Ty Redmond was thrust into action as a true freshman last season due to the injuries ahead of him on the depth chart. It looks to have paid dividends for the talented former Milton star sophomore. He finished the season with a 78.2 PFF coverage grade and snagged three interceptions. Across from him, you have a multitude of options that include a multi-year starter at Auburn in Kayin Lee. It could also be Jadais Richards, who transferred in from Miami, or even a wildcard returning young player like Tre Poteat or Tim Merritt. It’s a nice mix of talent with one sure-thing, a couple of intriguing veterans, and a couple of intriguing underclassmen. Again, with how little this room has rotated in the past, Tennessee’s depth here is just fine.
Linebacker
Can a position room have too much depth? We’re going to find out with the linebacker room at Tennessee. With the surprise return of Arion Carter to the room, along with Penn State transfer Amare Campbell, how linebackers coach William Inge handles the rotation behind the two projected starters will be one of the most fascinating things to watch this offseason. The Vols will also return Jeremiah Telander, Edwin Spillman, Jadon Perlotte, Jaedon Harmon, Ben Bolton, and bring in two more freshman blue-chippers in Brayden Rouse and T.J. White for good measure. The cliche is that this is a good problem to have, particularly in the transfer portal era, to have so much talent stacked behind one another. You still have to develop these guys, though, and there just won’t be enough snaps to go around if this is a healthy group this fall, even with how much Inge likes to rotate. I feel good about this room being the best it’s been in a long time at Tennessee, but who that includes after Carter and Campbell could not be less clear here in mid-February.
Tight End
It’s Ethan Davis’s moment in tight ends coach Alec Abeln’s room in 2026. The former Collins Hill star athlete is The Guy at tight end. Davis finished strong for the Vols down the stretch last season, particularly in the passing game. If he’s able to stay healthy and DaSaahn Brame evolves as a run and pass-blocker to pair with his elite receiving skillset, this room could prove to be one of the best rooms on the team next season. Davis racked up fifteen targets in the final two regular-season games for the Vols and made the most of his increased role. He brought in 12 receptions for 157 yards and a score. He graded well in pass-protection last year, per PFF, and is quietly due for a special season in 2026.
Quarterback
Quarterback can never be too far down the list under Heupel. It’s certainly a room defined by its uncertainty, but like we saw at wideout last year, that’s not inherently a negative. Whether it’s George MacIntyre or Faizon Brandon under center, the Vols have two former five-star recruits in the fold who will spend the next six months in a real, old-school competition. Would this room be a bit higher if the veteran in the room weren’t Ryan Staub? Sure, but it was always going to be hard to add a higher-profile veteran to this room, same as it was in 2024 with Nico Iamaleava. That didn’t prove to matter then, either, as the Vols won double-digit games and made the College Football Playoff.
Running Back
This, I would suspect, is the biggest shock to most Vol fans who read this piece. Yes, it’s great to get DeSean Bishop back for another season in Knoxville. The former Karns legend has been an awesome hometown story, and he had his best season yet for the Vols last season as the team’s top tailback. It’s what’s behind him that’s more of the worry. Former Oakland standout Duane Morris figures to be the new No. 2 behind Bishop, but he didn’t get the same kind of snaps as a true freshman that Jaylen Wright got in 2021 or Dylan Sampson got in 2022. I’d feel better about this position room overall had Morris played more last season, particularly with Peyton Lewis, who transfered to Virginia this offseason, never getting comfortable in the offense across two seasons. Last offseason, you added a veteran, one-year transfer in Star Thomas. This offseason, you didn’t take a tailback in the high school ranks, and your transfer addition, Javin Gordon, was a true freshman at Tulane last season. The Vols also return former Buford star Justin Baker, too. Tennessee threw the football a lot more than usual in 2025, with a redshirt freshman or true freshman likely under center in 2026, you would think the Vols would like to get back to a more balanced attack and run the football more. I’m just not sure that’s plausible, particularly if this room deals with any injury issues.
Defensive End & LEO
It’s been a while since we’ve been this uncertain about Tennessee’s LEOs and defensive ends. Last year, it was depth along the interior of the defensive line that was the worry for Rodney Garner’s unit. This year, that’s still the case, but with Joshua Josephs and Dominic Bailey off to the NFL along with Jordan Ross and Caleb Herring hitting the transfer portal, there are lots of unknowns every on the Vols’ defensive line in 2026. Penn State transfer LEO Chaz Coleman and Tulane transfer LEO Jordan Norman could certainly be more productive than Herring or Ross would have been at the LEO spot for Tennessee next season, but we just don’t know. Marion Dye and Christian Gass are still in the fold as two former big-time blue-chippers at DE and LEO, respectively. I could envision a scenario where this position room rises in my rankings fast next season, depending on how Coleman and Dye perform early for the Vols.
Offensive Tackle
This is another one of those spots where Elarbee deserves the benefit of the doubt. Even without true freshman star recruit David Sanders to start last season Perry thrived in the former’s absence. In 2022, he made it work with JJ Crawford and Gerald Mincey opposite of Darnell Wright. There are a lot of unknowns and not a lot of depth at this spot in 2026, though. Sanders was good at right tackle last season, but he’s moving over to the left side against a tougher SEC schedule this year as a true sophomore. On the opposite side, is it LSU transfer Ory Williams? Is it Perry? Bennett Warren transferred to Minnesota. Lance Heard transferred to Kentucky. If Sanders, Williams and Perry are healthy, it’s not a huge concern, but, you do not have to squint too hard to see a scenario where things get dicey in a hurry if this position room has any sort of bad injury luck in 2026. Shaky tackle depth with a redshirt freshman or true freshman at quarterback is not where you want to be when you’re trying to have a bounce-back season.
Safety
I really didn’t know where to place this room in the rankings. There is just so much turnover here both with who is coaching the room now in Anthony Poindexter, but also the projected starters in TJ Metcalf and Dejuan Lane. There is absolutely a scenario where Edrees Farooq beats out Lane to start alongside Metcalf, but there is just so much unknown on the back end of this in mid-February. You also have Kansas State transfer Qua Moss in the nickel spot now, too. I think this room will be better than last year’s room, but, man, it’s so hard to project in mid-February with so much change.
Defensive Tackle
I very much hope I’m wrong here. I think two things can be true: 1) This is an extremely talented room that I would project as one of the best for Tennessee next season and 2) This is an extremely inexperienced room that I project to be one of the worst for Tennessee next season. There are so many high-quality blue-chip players in this room that includes Isaiah Campbell, Ethan Utley, JJ Finch, Dereon Albert and Darryl Rivers, among a few others. Tennessee’s biggest miss this transfer portal cycle was not adding one more experienced veteran to pair with Penn State transfer Xavier Gilliam along with Daevin Hobbs and Nathan Robinson. Hobbs is the safest bet to be the best player in this room this year, and they need him to be a gamewrecker, particularly rushing the passer. Gilliam was solid in 379 snaps last season in Happy Valley, but he had just one sack and 12 tackles overall. Tennessee really needs him to take a leap alongside Hobbs and Robinson to take the pressure off the Vols’ talent young guys behind them. A lot of is riding on Hobbs and Robinson being able to stay healthy, particularly early on to keep the pressure off Gilliam and the young guys. If they’re healthy, Gilliam takes a step, and one of Campbell or Utley breakout this group can be really good really fast. I could also see this being the shakiest this position room has been in the Heupel era in Knoxville.