Vols Football: 5 Position Battles To Watch In The Off-Season

Oct 11, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Chattanooga Mocs quarterback Jacob Huesman (14) slides with the ball in front of Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Jakob Johnson (44) and linebacker Kenny Bynum (51) during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 45-10. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Middle Linebacker

With the departure of AJ Johnson, the Vols have a massive void in the middle of their defense to fill.

Tennessee has a lot of young talent at linebacker, but there are no clear answers — at least not yet.

Jakob Johnson and Kenny Bynum saw action at middle linebacker last season after Johnson was suspended.

Johnson started the final two games of the regular season and Bynum started in Tennessee’s bowl game.

Bynum made the most of his start in the Vols’ win against Iowa, receiving praise from Butch Jones.

Bynum, a redshirt junior, will get a look in spring practice, but he’ll have plenty of competition.

In addition to Jakob Johnson, Dillon Bates, a natural outside linebacker, will also get a look at middle linebacker.

Bates, a redshirt freshman who is coming off a torn labrum, is smart enough and big enough to be the Vols’ middle linebacker.

Another option for Tennessee is true freshman Darrin Kirkland Jr, a prototypical middle linebacker that Butch Jones has described as having a “photographic memory”.

Kirkland is already enrolled at UT, but he will miss spring practice with an injury.

I think Kirkland has the talent to be Tennessee’s starting linebacker as a true freshman. However, I’m not sure he can beat out players that have been in the program longer than him.

Another name to keep your eye on is redshirt freshman Gavin Bryant. The former four-star recruit could make some noise in this position battle as well.