Tennessee football: 10 players Vols can least afford to lose for 2018

Tennessee football has a huge task ahead in trying to replace Trevor Daniel. A surprise walk-on who emerged three years ago, Daniel continued the tradition of the Vols being Punter U. He actually won games for the Vols, and replacing him is going to be extremely difficult.

Nobody is proven on the roster, but the only guy who figures to have any potential is Paxton Brooks. A three-star recruit, Brooks was one of the top-rated punters in the 2018 recruiting class. So he’s a huge get for the Vols.

The problem is he’s the only get. And given the history of the Vols the last two years, you can’t trust the idea that a punter won’t get hurt. Their history also proves that good punting his a huge part of the game.

Brooks has nobody backing him up who the Vols can for sure count on either. Both guys are walk-ons, and we have no way of knowing what they can do. To be fair, Daniel was a walk-on. But how often does that work consecutively?

The Vols at least have a competition at kicker between Ryan Tice and Brent Cimaglia. You expect either one of them to be decent at this level. There’s no way of knowing how good any of the punters will be this year.

However, Brooks is the one guy that comes with expectations. So the Vols will likely rely on him more to flip the field. And if something happens to him, they are in serious trouble at this position. So the Vols desperately need him to be healthy.