5. Linebacker
Linebacker will always be a position the Vols need to address under Pruitt’s 3-4 defensive scheme. Tennessee will always need at 8-10 capable linebackers in this system, and right now they have the depth but not necessarily the most suited players for those respective positions.
The Vols will be losing several linebackers after the 2018 season and will be losing even more after the 2019 season as well. Darrin Kirkland Jr. and Dillon Bates are both seniors this year, and Daniel Bituli could always leave early as a junior after this season as well. Jonathan Kongbo is expected to transition to linebacker this season, but he’ll have graduated once this year is over. Austin Smith and Quart’e Sapp will be seniors in 2019 too, as will potential linebacker/defensive end Darrell Taylor.
Tennessee needs more depth and more capable linebackers for the 2019 season and moving forward. They need to add two or three at least in this class.
One Response
Surprised not to see RB on this list. Other than Chandler, and to some extent Fils-Aime, there is nobody with any meaningful experience, and we didn’t really address that need in this year’s class.