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Tennessee Football: Despite Experience, Vols Are Still Very Young

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 1, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) stands on the ladder with the drum major to lead the band as they beat the Northwestern Wildcats in the 2016 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 45-6. Tennessee Volunteers Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) stands on the ladder with the drum major to lead the band as they beat the Northwestern Wildcats in the 2016 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 45-6. Tennessee Volunteers Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee football has lots of expectations in 2016 due to the number of returning starters, but the Volunteers are still one of the youngest SEC teams.

On the surface, Tennessee football is loaded with experience. The Vols return 10 of 11 starters on offense from a year ago, and they return nine of 11 on defense. Then they return both their place-kicker and punter.

Only the LSU Tigers have more returning contributors in the SEC than Tennessee.

But here’s the real kicker: Butch Jones still has one of the younger teams in the SEC. While the Vols have the second most returning contributors back in the conference, they have the fourth fewest returning senior contributors.

Related Story: Tennessee Football: 10 Things that Set the Vols Apart from Other SEC Teams

Only seven starters on the Vols are expected to be seniors, and only nine overall are expected to be contributors. That’s if you count Kenny Bynum, by the way.

Going into 2016, the only teams with fewer expected senior contributors are the Kentucky Wildcats, Georgia Bulldogs, and Vanderbilt Commodores. And none of them are even close to the Vols when it comes to returning starters.

The Missouri Tigers, Florida Gators, Texas A&M Aggies, and Alabama Crimson Tide are all right on Tennessee’s level but have just slightly more contributors overall.

The comes everybody else. All six of the other teams are pushing 15 returning senior contributors, far more than Tennessee is coming close to. This includes the LSU Tigers, the only team close to Tennessee in terms of the number of returning contributors last year.

What does this mean?

It means the Vols have one of the brightest futures of anybody in college football. Butch Jones has set them up for 2017 and 2018 through elite recruiting.

Tennessee will be back next year with tons of returning contributors. Meanwhile,they all will have had way more playing experience than other schools.

So it’s not just returning starters for the Vols. It’s the playing experience overall.

However, there is one caveat to this.

While Tennessee only has about nine seniors expected to contribute, seniors are their most important players.

The Vols’ 2013 recruiting class produced a bevy of over-achievers, starting with quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Jalen Reeves-Maybin at linebacker is another one. Cameron Sutton at senior is the third one.

Those are the three most important guys on the roster.

Then you have Corey Vereen and Dylan Wiesman, both of whom are leaders. Jason Croom will turn into one of them most irreplaceable tight ends ever.

Danny O’Brien, LaTroy Lewis, and Bynum won’t be as big losses, but those other three are huge.

Add in the fact that many of the juniors will likely leave early for the NFL Draft, and it’s not all roses for the program.

must read: Tennessee Football: 10 Vols Seniors With the Most NFL Potential

Jones still has some work to do if he wants the program to remain in great shape after this year.

However, he has succeeded there in the numbers game so far.

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