5. Deandre Johnson, DL
Tennessee has a woefully thin rotation at defensive end. Darrell Taylor, Jonathan Kongbo, and Kyle Phillips are largely the only ends getting playing time right now. Almost all of the depth behind them are freshmen.
Freshman Deandre Johnson earned a sack and two tackles for loss against Indiana State in Week 2, but he didn’t do much of anything against Florida last week and rarely played. He needs some more live reps against an out-matched UMass this weekend to get him better prepared for the stretch ahead.
The Vols can’t rely on just three defensive ends in SEC play. They need a fourth, and ideally a fifth, end to emerge. Johnson has all the potential to be that next guy, and he needs more time this weekend to show off his skills.
