Tennessee Volunteers release depth chart

The Tennessee Volunteers have been holding off releasing a depth chart due to the constant positional battle that has been going on in camp. However, they have finally let the fans know who will take the field in the season opener on Sunday against the Utah State Aggies in Neyland Stadium at 7:00 p.m.

As always with depth charts, take them with a grain of salt. There is a lot of information you can gain from these, but with sub packages and multiple fronts, this doesn’t tell the whole story. For example freshmen like Elliot and Evan Berry are expected to get a lot of time in nickel defenses, but that isn’t listed here.

Offense

QB: Justin Worley

RB: Marlin Lane

WR: Marquez North

WR: Pig Howard

WR: Von Pearson

TE: Ethan Wolf

LT: Jacob Gilliam

LG: Marcus Jackson

C: Mack Crowder

RG: Jashon Robertson

RT: Kyler Kerbyson

Notes:

-Senior Justin Worley has been the starting quarterback for over a week now, and nothing seems to be changing on that front. The Vols coaches have said that they like the way he grew into a leader this offseason and said they think he gives them the best chance to win.

– Senior Marlin Lane starts at running back despite the signing of five-star freshman Jalen Hurd. Don’t look too much into this, because all reports are that Hurd will see significant time, and the Vols will use a committee backfield rather than one workhorse back.

-Junior receiver Alton “Pig” Howard has made a tremendous recovery after seemingly being done with football. Howard has worked very hard this off-season and deserves a lot of credit for his ability to come in and beat out competitors like sophomore Jason Croom and five-star freshman Josh Malone.

-Freshman Jashon Robertson is the first true freshman to be on the offensive line since JaWuan James.

Defense

LE: Corey Vereen

DT: Jordan Williams

DT: Danny O’Brien

RE: Derek Barnett

WLB: Jalen Reeves-Maybin

MLB: A.J. Johnson

SLB: Curt Maggitt

CB: Cameron Sutton

CB: Justin Coleman

S: Brian Randolph

S: Devaun Swafford

Notes:

-The single biggest revelation to come from the release of this depth chart is the fact that Derek Barnett will be the first true freshman to ever start at defensive end for the Tennessee Volunteers.

-After showing potential in year one, it looks like sophomore Corey Vereen will get a chance to start. Vereen was used as a nickel pass rusher in 2013 and should improve the Vols pass rush.

-Senior A.J. Johnson and redshirt junior Curt Maggitt have reportedly been the leaders on defense, but both won’t play linebacker. Despite this, the Vols will play in a hybrid defense that resembles a 4-3 under front. That means that Maggitt will play a lot of defensive end rather than being a linebacker.

Edited by Maggie Jones