Tennessee football released its inaugural 2023 season depth chart Monday afternoon following Josh Heupel’s weekly media availability.
There weren’t many surprises on the depth chart and plenty of non committal “ORs” but still there were some true takeaways to glean.
You can check out Tennessee football’s complete depth chart here, but now it’s on to the takeaways from the opening depth chart.
Thoughts From The “ORs”
There were 16 total ORs in Tennessee’s inaugural depth chart including nine in the starting line. When you exclude special teams, the Vols were non committal about who will start at eight of 22 positions.
So where do the ORs show up most often? Unsurprisingly it’s at the two most uncertain spots on the roster: offensive line and secondary.
There are 11 listed starters on the offensive line. Five players will start. There’s little intrigue around the offensive tackle spots where Tennessee lists John Campbell Jr. and Gerald Mincey as co-starters at left tackle and Jeremiah Crawford and Dayne Davis as co-starters at right tackle.
All four will play but it would be shocking if Campbell and Crawford aren’t starters at their respective spots come Saturday.
The three co-starters at left guard— Andrej Karic, Jackson Lampley and Ollie Lane— all make sense as that competition is expected to roll into the season.
Transfers Show Up In Abundance
Tennessee hasn’t been overly active using the transfer portal in Josh Heupel’s three seasons as head coach, but they have been effective and concise with the players they have landed.
That showed up looking at the depth chart as seven players who transferred into the Tennessee program are listed as starters.
Now MIKE linebacker Keenan Pili is the only starter without an OR beside his name but, still, the Vols are expecting a lot out of the players it brought into its program.
Other transfers listed as co-starters include: McCallan Castles (tight end), John Campbell (left tackle), Andrej Karic (left guard), Dont’e Thornton (receiver), Omarr-Norman Lott (defensive tackle) and Gabe Jeudy-Lally (cornerback).
I expect Campbell, Karic and Thornton to start against Virginia will all six will play major roles this season.
No Surprises In Secondary
Tennessee has an influx of young talent in the secondary but there’s no real surprises at those spots as we work closer to kickoff.
The Vols list veterans Jaylen McCollough and Wesley Walker are listed as definitive starters at safety as is Tamarion McDonald at STAR.
Tennessee’s coaches have talked all camp about how they’re going to play a lot of corners. The depth chart backs it up. There’s co-starters at both corner spots: Kamal Hadden, Warren Burrell, Doneiko Slaughter and Jeudy-Lally.
Will anyone truly separate themselves at that spot? Time will tell but I am skeptical. And that’s not a good sign for Tennessee’s pass defense.
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Six Freshman Make The Depth Chart
There’s not a single freshman in Tennessee’s listed starting lineup but four different ones landed on the depth chart including two in the offensive and defensive two-deep.
It’s no surprise that Nico Iamaleava in the backup quarterback or that Arion Carter is a backup inside linebacker.
But Cam Seldon’s inclusion as the fourth running back is at least a minor surprise as is Daevin Hobbs showing up as a third team defensive tackle. Georgia linebacker Jeremiah Telander also made the depth chart as a third string linebacker and edge rusher Caleb Herring landed as the fourth string LEO.
We’ll see how much those four play this season (Tennessee hopes Iamaleava plays little) but that shows you the freshman most likely to make an impact this fall.
The one exclusion from the list is tight end Ethan Davis who is definitively the third tight end and will likely receive opportunities.
Special Teams Thoughts
Let’s start with what we knew about special teams and aren’t surprised about.
Charles Campbell is the place kicker, Jackson Ross is the punter and Dee Williams is the starting punt returner.
It was interesting to see Seldon and Williams listed as co-starters at kick returner. That’s an interesting way to potentially get the freshman Seldon more touches while he sits behind a loaded running back room. Squirrel White listed as Williams backup at punt returner is also interesting.
Williams is a stud at that spot but it’ll be interesting to see if White gets any opportunities.
Ross being the starting holder isn’t shocking but is interesting nonetheless. As is Josh Turbyville winning the starting kick off specialist job.
