Vols Football: 5 Most Important Returning Players in 2015

The Vols will welcome back 18 returning starters in 2015, but 5 of them stand out as the most important to return in Butch Jones’s third season as head coach. PHOTO: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Volunteers hauled in a consensus top 5 recruiting class for their 2015 class, and a good handful of those players will contribute immediately, with a few possibly starting in 2015. But the bulk of Tennessee’s starters will be players who return from the 2014 roster ready to take the next step with the Vols.

Tennessee returns 10 starters on offense, 8 on defense, and will return sophomore kicker Aaron Medley as well. They return the most offensive players in the SEC and are tied for 2nd-most returning defensive players in the conference. A large portion of those starters will only be sophomores and juniors as well.

The Vols will have many key returning players in 2015, but there are a select few who will be major contributors and play the most important roles for Tennessee this season. Butch Jones’s third Vols team will have plenty of expectations, and without these players, both the offense and defense won’t function the same.

There will be several names not on this list that will still be important components in Tennessee’s success in 2015, but the five players named here will be expected not only to put up numbers, but they’ll likely be asked to be leaders as well. That’s why they’re the most important, not just the most talented.

Here are the five most important returning players for the Vols in 2015.

All stats via UT Sports unless noted otherwise