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1. Inside linebacker
Tennessee got an unwanted head start on finding its inside linebacker of the future after A.J. Johnson’s UT career was cut short in the midst of legal issues late last season. But that gave Jakob Johnson and Kenny Bynum a chance to get some valuable game experience in and show what they could do. The results? Mixed, it’s fair to say. Neither stepped up and made a compelling case to be the future inside linebacker, but both are clearly in the conversation, though Johnson will be out of all the physical reps after his offseason surgery. Gavin Bryant, who redshirted in 2014, is the wild card. This spring will be a chance for him to show what he can do. Freshman Darrin Kirkland Jr. will miss spring with an injury as well.
But perhaps the most intriguing part of this spring will be seeing what Dillon Bates does with his opportunities at inside linebacker, a spot Jones confirmed he’ll get some work at. Bates weighs in at about 230 pounds right now and the staff would like to him closer to 240 if he’s going to stick inside. It’ll be interesting to see how serious of a look he gets inside this spring.
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