Patriots vs. Steelers: Four Former Vols Are Expected to be in the 2015 NFL Opener

The Patriots vs. Steelers NFL opener Thursday will include four former Tennessee Volunteers football players, with two on New England and two on Pittsburgh.

They may have struggled a lot over the past seven years, but the Tennessee Vols never fail to put players on the big stage, and it will happen once again in Thursday night’s NFL opener.

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As the New England Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night for the NFL opener, Jerod Mayo, Ramon Foster, Justin Coleman, and Daniel McCullers are all expected to be on the sidelines.

Mayo and Coleman are with the Patriots, and Foster and McCullers are obviously with the Steelers.

Mayo is the biggest star of the bunch and is coming back from injury, which is a huge deal for the Patriots. If he can return to form, he is a superstar linebacker with a heck of a lot of speed and will be looking to have a heck of a night in his debut return.

Foster, on the other side, might not garner as much love for Tennessee fans after praising Tom Brady for his victory over the NFL, but he did what he had to do as a Players’ Union rep. The Patriots are expecting to be able to push him around due to his lack of athleticism, but Foster has clearly shown over the course of more than four years in the NFL and more than three years as a starter that he is a great over-achiever after being undrafted. Thursday provides a great stage for him to prove himself again.

Justin Coleman is a great story as he was just signed off the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad by the Patriots, who gave him a look this past offseason. This will be the third team just this offseason for the undrafted defensive back, who finished his career at Tennessee just this past year.

Meanwhile, Daniel McCullers will be a reserve defensive tackle for the Steelers. He will be on the roster and come in with expectations as a guy in the rotation after a full year under his belt. It will be interesting to see how much action he gets Thursday, but it likely won’t be much. The way to beat the Patriots are with defensive linemen who are physical but have speed and can do different stunts on the line to get to Tom Brady. McCullers is just a big, physical force as we all know. That’s not very valuable against the Pats’ offensive line.

Expect to see Mayo’s name heard a lot tomorrow night, followed by Foster, but don’t be surprised if Coleman sneaks in.

You won’t hear much from McCullers at all.

Next: Week Two College Football Game Picks, Scores, and Predictions

The Patriots vs. Steelers NFL opener Thursday will include four former Tennessee Volunteers football players, with two on New England and two on Pittsburgh.

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