Should A Vol Be SI.COM’s College Athlete Of The Year? (POLL)

Sep 7, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers kicker Michael Palardy (1) kicks the extra point against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 52-20. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

As you may or may not know, our site is part of the FanSided network, which is partnered with Sports Illustrated.

Each year, Sports Illustrated names a female and male college athlete of the year.

North Carolina’s Loren Shealy and Cornell’s Kyle Dake were awarded the respective honors last year.

With that in mind, which Tennessee Volunteer do you think is worthy of the honor this year?

Here are a few that we think should be considered for the honor. Make sure to vote in the poll at the end and comment and let us know if there’s someone we missed!

Michael Palardy — Kicker/Punter — Senior

Palardy was easily one of the most improved Tennessee Volunteers this season. He was named a Ray Guy Award semifinalist and for very good reason.

The senior from Coral Springs, Fla averaged 44.5 yards per punt and led FBS in percentage of punts that landed inside the 20-yard line.

In addition to his punting success, he also converted on 14 of his 17 field goal attempts. He made 82% of his field goals, which was better than the 75% he made in 2012. His long on the season was 51 yards.

Palardy was one of the Vols’ most consistent players this season. He allowed Tennessee to gain the edge in the field position battle, which was key in the Volunteers’ win over South Carolina.

Meighan Simmons — Guard — Senior

Simmons was named SEC Co-player of the year after a fantastic 2012-13 season in which she averaged nearly 17 points a game.

Seeing Meighan Simmons’ name as the Lady Vols’ leading scorer in the box score was pretty typical last season and that’s carried over into this sesaon.

Simmons’ is destined for the record books in Knoxville, as she’s already scored the 18th most points in Lady Vol history.

Ellen Renfroe — Pitcher — Senior

Ellen Renfroe finished the 2013 season with a 19-5 record and a ERA of 1.85.

That was good enough for her to be one of the top 25 finalists for 2013 USA Softball Player of the Year.

Renfroe also had 221 strikeouts in 200 innings of work. She was named SEC player of the week (4/1-4/7) once in the 2013 season.

Jordan McRae — Guard — Senior

Jordan McRae has turned out to be one of the Vols’ most important players.

McRae has went from starting every other game, to being a must-start player for Tennessee.

The Georgia native averaged over 15 points a game last season and he’s off to a blazing start this season.

McRae has been named to the Naismith trophy watch list this season. He was also an SEC player of the week (Nov 25) this season for the first time in his career.

Cam Sutton — Cornerback — Freshman

So how about nominating a freshman?

There was perhaps not a more important 2013 commit for the Vols than Cam Sutton.

Sutton was the definition of a shutdown corner this season. He was sixth on the team in tackles, including one sack and four tackles for loss.

In addition to his tackles, he also had two interceptions, including one he ran back 36 yards for a touchdown.

*Stats courtesy UTSports.COM