5. Darrin Kirkland Jr., LB
After a stellar freshman campaign, hopes were extremely high for Darrin Kirkland Jr. at inside linebacker. He looked like he had all the makings of becoming the Vols’ next star linebacker.
Then injuries happened. And drama followed soon after.
Kirkland played in all 13 games as a freshman in 2015 and made 10 starts. But he missed five games in 2016 due to a high ankle sprain he suffered against Virginia Tech. And it got worse prior to the 2017 season when he sustained a season-ending injury in fall camp.
The former four-star linebacker didn’t participate much at all in spring practices under Jeremy Pruitt, and he didn’t play in the Orange & White Game at all. Then in late May of this year, Kirkland announced he intended to transfer out of the UT football program. Except, he didn’t end up transferring. Pruitt met with Kirkland and his family over the weekend after his announcement to transfer, and the embattled linebacker changed his mind.
After all that drama and all his injury history, Kirkland has much to prove heading into his redshirt junior season this year. Can he prove to be a good teammate after his transfer fiasco? Can he regain his old form after his numerous injuries? 2018 will be a pivotal year for Kirkland.
