Tennessee football: 10 Vols who should have breakout seasons in 2018

Tennessee football has the potential for lots of new stars to emerge with new head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Here are 10 Volunteers who could break out in 2018.

Under Butch Jones, Tennessee football was able to lure a lot of talent to Rocky Top. However, his insistence on forcing those players into systems that didn’t fit their skills hampered the growth of many of them.

We could just run down a list of players Jones misused as a result. It was a recurring thing. Now, as Pruitt takes over with new systems on both sides of the ball, these guys have a chance at redemption. Combine that with young players getting more experience, and there are more opportunities than usual for breakout stars this year.

Tennessee football has lots of players entering their junior and senior seasons who still haven’t emerged onto the scene the way they are capable of. Pretty much everybody on the roster has a chance to be what you would call a ‘breakout star.’

As a result, in this post, we are going to rank the 10 Vols who should burst onto the scene this year. However, unlike previous seasons, all these names are recognizable. And most of them are expected to be key players in the program anyway.

This takes into account who the changes in schemes will benefit. It also leaves out the few guys who have already emerged, such as Nigel Warrior or Trey Smith. These are players we’ve been waiting to break out but who never did.

Remember, the systems that both the coaches run could also hold back some guys this year. As a result, despite their overall potential, the X’s and O’s will delay their breakout seasons by a year. But others should have no problem adjusting.

So let’s get started. Who will emerge onto the scene Jeremy Pruitt’s first season on Rocky Top? Where were they before now? These are the 10 Tennessee football players who should have breakout years for 2018.