5. Marcus Tatum, OL
There were many glaring weaknesses on Tennessee’s roster last season. But one of the most obvious ones was the Vols’ offensive line. Injury, attrition, and poor development plagued the unit all season. And rising junior Marcus Tatum needs to separate himself from others in the unit.
Tatum started a handful of games last year out of necessity, and he showed some promising results as a sophomore. But he also struggled against some of the better teams Tennessee played.
The Vols will need Tatum to play a big role this year, and he could earn a starting spot if he can stand out to his new coaches this spring. Tennessee won’t have a great deal of depth along the offensive line this spring thanks to both Chance Hall and Trey Smith missing practices for health reasons, and that makes it even more imperative that Tatum makes a good first impression on the Vols’ new coaches.
