Tennessee football: Vols 5 most important seniors for 2018 season

Tennessee football needs veteran leadership to help with the transition to the Jeremy Pruitt era. Here are the five key seniors on the 2018 Volunteers.

One of the exciting things about the Jeremy Pruitt era kicking off for Tennessee football is the relatively few number of seniors the Vols have. Including walk-ons, only 13 players of the over 110 at fall camp are entering their final year of eligibility.

As a result, the future is clearly bright for Rocky Top as it is. However, for Pruitt to have a good first year in Knoxville, he’s going to need some upperclassmen to step up. After all, a great first impression goes a long way when it comes to things like recruiting.

So yes, the seniors are important to the 2018 Tennessee football team. They may not be the ones to win any championships, but they’re going to set the standard for the program in the future. Laying that foundation is critical.

In this post, we’re going to rank the five most important seniors on the Vols. The criteria for this ranking includes the importance of the position the player plays, the depth at that position and the overall talent of the player himself.

Pruitt knows this type of experience is critical, even in his first year, which is why he went after four graduate transfers. Three of those guys are seniors, and they are all serious contenders for starting jobs this fall camp.

Winning early is going to be huge for the Vols, and the pieces are in place to do just that, even if they don’t win big. But it will take a few guys with experience to lead the way, and that’s what this post is all about.

With the chance to be a cinderella team, let’s take a look at the veterans who could make that happen for the 2018 Vols. These are the five most important upcoming seniors on the 2018 Tennessee football team.