5. What young O-linemen can be counted on?
I already singled out Trey Smith, but this group needs several young linemen to take a nice step this spring. Five offensive linemen with starting experience – Jack Jones, Chance Hall, Brett Kendrick, Jashon Robertson and Coleman Thomas – are all entering their junior or senior season. That means it’s time to develop the next generation. It’ll be a big spring for players like Marcus Tatum, Nathan Niehaus, Ryan Johnson, Venzell Boulware, Drew Richmond, Riley Locklear, Devante Brooks and Smith. Tennessee wants to generate both more competition for the 2017 season and feel better about 2018 and beyond.
