5. First Look at the Newcomers
For the first time since Butch Jones and his staff took over at Tennessee, the Vols had only a small contingent of early enrollees in for the spring. Not counting defensive tackle Alexis Johnson, whose status with the team is still in question, the Vols only had three early enrollees from their 2016 class. That means Jones and his staff will get their first look at 17 newcomers from the 2016 class this fall.
Throw in late additions to the 2016 class such as running back Jeremy Lewis and defensive end Mykelle McDaniel, and the Vols will have a plethora of new faces taking the field for fall camp.
Among those new additions are highly-touted players such as defensive end Jonathan Kongbo, safety Nigel Warrior, wide receivers Marquez Callaway and Tyler Byrd, and quarterback Jarrett Guarantano. Running back Carlin Fils-Aime, linebacker Daniel Bituli, and others will get their first reps in the orange and white as well.
The Vols don’t need to rely on a freshman or newcomer to come in and start immediately this season, and that’s a welcome change from Butch Jones’ first three years as Tennessee’s head coach. But players like Kongbo, Warrior, Callaway, and Byrd will all compete for playing time and should give returning players plenty of competition at their starting spots.
