Roster Management: Best Guess for 2024

[Archer467]

So basically this is opinionated guesswork from watching vols on TV and means nothing?

And still with the read

 

[Archer467]

And still with the read

*worth

 

[OrangeTsar]

That secondary scares me. Maybe I’m being cynical but where are the playmakers. I wouldn’t count on a freshman to fall into that category.

Great post by the way!

UT Secondary ALWAYS scares me. Heupel year 4 we should have more talent and depth there but I just don’t see it yet

 

[NighthawkVol]

UT Secondary ALWAYS scares me. Heupel year 4 we should have more talent and depth there but I just don’t see it yet

Notice I have 2 portal guys in there at CB and 1 at S. Yes, I'm projecting, but let's see who we get there. And let's also hope the 2023 DB class develops. I think Gibson could be very good at one CB spot next year. I also think McDonald and Slaughter could be much better at Safety, if moved there.

 

[Sarms58]

UT Secondary ALWAYS scares me. Heupel year 4 we should have more talent and depth there but I just don’t see it yet

Next year Heupel will have 3 classes of players he signed. The 2021 class was Pruitt’s last and is mostly gone. But I doubt it would be much different if we had fired Pruitt early and brought Josh in a couple weeks before early signing date - when you fire a coach it usually disrupts recruiting and you lose a class. It takes a while for the new staff to build relationships with HS coaches and players. Add to that our dumpster fire decade and the NCAA investigation and it’s not surprising that recruiting has been difficult. Even though we’ve lost players via the portal it has been very good for us in our situation.

This years class is looking good and we have a couple of good DB prospects but as others noted, we need a stud shutdown corner either as a late commitment or from the portal. i’m not sure we’ll find one but we need to be able to play press coverage at times. I know many complain about our scheme - giving way too much cushion - but I believe our schemes are based on the talent we have. I’m sure others watched the SECCG and saw Bama’s backup CB come in and play very tight press coverage. Of course that’s their scheme but they also consistently recruit the players with the skills to play that scheme. Interesting, the guy that came in was a 3 star HS player whom we offered in 2019 but he went to Louisiana. There he developed into an excellent CB and was rated higher in the transfer portal than he was coming out of HS. Maybe we can find a few guys like him to supplement the young guys we’re signing out of HS.

 

[NighthawkVol]

I was wrong on lutrell. Completely caught off guard by Campbell. And still confused why we’re hearing even rumors about baron. You never know until you know, you know?

Listening to the 247 podcast that aired yesterday, it sounds like Jabari Small has gone from "probably returns" to "probably leaving." In fact, they were saying he may not even play in the bowl game now.

Also, 2 things on DeSean Bishop...they said 1) they think he'll be back and 2) he's a PWO. I thought he was a scholarship player. Both of those things are good for Tennessee.

 

[Adam Sandler]

Listening to the 247 podcast that aired yesterday, it sounds like Jabari Small has gone from "probably returns" to "probably leaving." In fact, they were saying he may not even play in the bowl game now.

Also, 2 things on DeSean Bishop...they said 1) they think he'll be back and 2) he's a PWO. I thought he was a scholarship player. Both of those things are good for Tennessee.

So Jabari is nfl draft or grad transferring if he’s sitting out bowl game. Otherwise play and finish up your football career.

I also thought he was scholarship, thats strange.

 

[NighthawkVol]

So Jabari is nfl draft or grad transferring if he’s sitting out bowl game. Otherwise play and finish up your football career.

I also thought he was scholarship, thats strange.

They said they don't know re: Jabari. Just that it appears he's moving on, be that to the NFL draft, transfer portal, or just life.

Maybe they were wrong about Bishop being a PWO. I thought he was a scholarship guy, but assuming they're correct, that helps the scholarship situation.

 

[NighthawkVol]

So here's a different approach. This is the current players we have, removing those who have entred the portal and added all who are committed. No speculating on who leaves or who is added. This puts the scholarship number at 80; room to add 3 more without any more departures:

QB- Nico Iamaleava (So.), Jake Merklinger (Fr.), Gaston Moore (RSSr.)*

RB- Dylan Sampson (Jr.), Jaylen Wright (Sr.), Jabari Small (Sr.), Cameron Seldon (So.), Khalifa Keith (RSFr.), Peyton Lewis (Fr.), DeSean Bishop (RSFr.)*

WR- Dont’e Thornton (Sr.), Kaleb Webb (RSSo.), Nathan Leacock (RSFr.)

WR- Bru McCoy (RSSr.), Mike Matthews (Fr.), Braylon Staley (Fr.)

WR- Squirrel White (Jr.), Chas Nimrod (RSSo.), Nate Spillman (RSFr.)

TE- Ethan Davis (RSFr.), Emmanuel Okoye (RSFr.)

RT- Gerald Mincey (RSSr.), Shamurad Umarov (RSFr.), Larry Johnson, III (RSJr.)

RG- Javontez Spraggins (Sr.), Masai Reddick (RSSo.), Ayden Bussell (RSFr.), Gage Ginther (Fr.)

C- Cooper Mays (Sr.), Vysen Lang (RSFr.), William Satterwhite (Fr.)

LG- Andrej Karic (Jr.), Jackson Lampley (RSSr.), Max Anderson (Fr.)

LT- John Campbell (RSSr.), Brian Grant (RSSo.), Bennett Warren (Fr.), Jesse Perry (Fr.)



SDE- Dominic Bailey (RSSr.), Tyre West (Jr.), Nathan Robinson (RSFr.), Carson Gentle (Fr.), Kellen Lindstrom (Fr.)

DT- Omar Norman-Lott (Sr.), Bryson Eason (RSSr.), Daevin Hobbs (So.), Tyree Weathersby (RSFr.), Trevor Duncan (RSFr.)

DT- Omari Thomas (Sr.), Elijah Simmons (RSSr.), Jayson Jenkins (RSSo.), Jeremias Heard (Fr.)

LEO- James Pearce (Jr.), Joshua Josephs (Jr.), Caleb Herring (RSFr.), Chandavian Bradley (RSFr.), Jordan Ross (Fr.)

MIKE- Keenan Pili (RSSr.), Jeremiah Telendar (So.), Elijah Herring (Jr.), Edwin Spillman (Fr.)

WLB- Arion Carter (So.), Kaleb Perry (Jr.), Jalen Smith (RSFr.), Jordan Burns (Fr.)

LCB- Gabe Jeudy-Lally (RSSr.), Chrsitian Harrison (RSSo.), Kaleb Beasley (Fr.)

RCB- Rickey Gibson (RSFr.), Jordan Matthews (RSFr.), De’Shawn Rucker (Sr.)

NB- Jourdan Thomas (Jr.), Boo Carter (Fr.), Christian Conyer (RSFr.), Marcus Goree (Fr.)

S- Tamarion McDonald (Sr.), Andre Turrentine (RSJr.)

S- Wesley Walker (Sr.), Christian Charles (Sr.), John Slaughter (RSFr.), Edrees Farooq (Fr.)



K- JT Carver (RSJr.)*

P- Jackson Ross (RSSo.)



*non-scholarship

 

[Adam Sandler]

So here's a different approach. This is the current players we have, removing those who have entred the portal and added all who are committed. No speculating on who leaves or who is added. This puts the scholarship number at 80; room to add 3 more without any more departures:

QB- Nico Iamaleava (So.), Jake Merklinger (Fr.), Gaston Moore (RSSr.)*

RB- Dylan Sampson (Jr.), Jaylen Wright (Sr.), Jabari Small (Sr.), Cameron Seldon (So.), Khalifa Keith (RSFr.), Peyton Lewis (Fr.), DeSean Bishop (RSFr.)*

WR- Dont’e Thornton (Sr.), Kaleb Webb (RSSo.), Nathan Leacock (RSFr.)

WR- Bru McCoy (RSSr.), Mike Matthews (Fr.), Braylon Staley (Fr.)

WR- Squirrel White (Jr.), Chas Nimrod (RSSo.), Nate Spillman (RSFr.)

TE- Ethan Davis (RSFr.), Emmanuel Okoye (RSFr.)

RT- Gerald Mincey (RSSr.), Shamurad Umarov (RSFr.), Larry Johnson, III (RSJr.)

RG- Javontez Spraggins (Sr.), Masai Reddick (RSSo.), Ayden Bussell (RSFr.), Gage Ginther (Fr.)

C- Cooper Mays (Sr.), Vysen Lang (RSFr.), William Satterwhite (Fr.)

LG- Andrej Karic (Jr.), Jackson Lampley (RSSr.), Max Anderson (Fr.)

LT- John Campbell (RSSr.), Brian Grant (RSSo.), Bennett Warren (Fr.), Jesse Perry (Fr.)



SDE- Dominic Bailey (RSSr.), Tyre West (Jr.), Nathan Robinson (RSFr.), Carson Gentle (Fr.), Kellen Lindstrom (Fr.)

DT- Omar Norman-Lott (Sr.), Bryson Eason (RSSr.), Daevin Hobbs (So.), Tyree Weathersby (RSFr.), Trevor Duncan (RSFr.)

DT- Omari Thomas (Sr.), Elijah Simmons (RSSr.), Jayson Jenkins (RSSo.), Jeremias Heard (Fr.)

LEO- James Pearce (Jr.), Joshua Josephs (Jr.), Caleb Herring (RSFr.), Chandavian Bradley (RSFr.), Jordan Ross (Fr.)

MIKE- Keenan Pili (RSSr.), Jeremiah Telendar (So.), Elijah Herring (Jr.), Edwin Spillman (Fr.)

WLB- Arion Carter (So.), Kaleb Perry (Jr.), Jalen Smith (RSFr.), Jordan Burns (Fr.)

LCB- Gabe Jeudy-Lally (RSSr.), Chrsitian Harrison (RSSo.), Kaleb Beasley (Fr.)

RCB- Rickey Gibson (RSFr.), Jordan Matthews (RSFr.), De’Shawn Rucker (Sr.)

NB- Jourdan Thomas (Jr.), Boo Carter (Fr.), Christian Conyer (RSFr.), Marcus Goree (Fr.)

S- Tamarion McDonald (Sr.), Andre Turrentine (RSJr.)

S- Wesley Walker (Sr.), Christian Charles (Sr.), John Slaughter (RSFr.), Edrees Farooq (Fr.)



K- JT Carver (RSJr.)*

P- Jackson Ross (RSSo.)



*non-scholarship

I would guess 5-7 more of those leave. Room for 8 portal players. 2 OL, 2 DB, 1 WR, 2 TE, 1 LB.