1. Shanon Reid, ILB
There’s no player who surprised more this spring than linebacker Shanon Reid.
The rising junior looked like a potential transfer option off the Vols’ roster after the 2018 season ended. In two years with Tennessee, the undersized linebacker hadn’t stood out on the field. He played primarily on special teams as a freshman in 2017 and appeared in nine games last season, making just five tackles.
During the offseason, though, Reid dedicated himself to UT’s strength and conditioning program and to bettering himself as a player. And it more than paid off.
Reid looked like a whole different player once spring practices began. He now measured in at 6-foot, 230 pounds and had added over a dozen pounds of muscle in the offseason. He proved to be more than just a workout warrior, though.
The rising junior started to work his way up the depth chart during practices, and soon he was going through drills right after Daniel Bituli and Will Ignont in the inside linebacker group. All his work culminated in earning a start at inside linebacker alongside Bituli in the Orange & White Game, and he turned in a very impressive performance. Reid led the entire team with 10 tackles and broke up a pass as well.
Quavaris Crouch will continue to give Reid all he can handle from a competition standpoint, and Will Ignont won’t go away quietly, either. There’s also a chance that incoming four-star linebacker Henry To’oto’o plays inside linebacker rather than outside.
Keeping that starting job won’t be easy, but Shanon Reid is clearly motivated and ready to prove his doubters wrong.
