5. Kendal Vickers, Defensive Tackle
With Derek Barnett, Corey Vereen, and LaTroy Lewis all gone off the roster this year, Tennessee needs someone to step up on the defensive line and have a strong season. Most of the talk around the defensive line has been about Jonathan Kongbo, Darrell Taylor, Kahlil McKenzie, and Shy Tuttle.
But the most experienced defensive lineman on the roster is barely being discussed.
Kendal Vickers enters this season with more career starts than the rest of Tennessee’s defensive linemen combined. And the senior enters this season coming off a strong junior campaign as well. Vickers totaled 38 tackles, 2.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, and one forced fumble while starting all 13 games at defensive tackle last season.
Vickers’ numbers from last year are major improvements on his 2015 stats when he also started 13 games. Vickers finished 2016 with 18 more tackles, two more sacks, and 4.5 more tackles for loss while playing in the same amount of games.
Tennessee needs Vickers to be a leader on defense this season, and he’s proven to be so far in the spring and fall. He’s one of their more important defensive players, yet he has taken a back seat in terms of discussion.
