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Tennessee football: 10 Vols most likely to gain postseason recognition for 2018

By Caleb Calhoun

LEXINGTON, KY - OCTOBER 28: Ty Chandler #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers runs with the ball against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - OCTOBER 28: Ty Chandler #3 of the Tennessee Volunteers runs with the ball against the Kentucky Wildcats at Commonwealth Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

Tennessee football has a lot of players looking to emerge under a new coaching staff. Here are the 10 Volunteers likely to achieve postseason recognition.

The last time Tennessee football had an All-American was 2015, when both Cameron Sutton and Evan Berry made it as kick returners. Their las non-specialist All-American was Eric Berry back in 2009. Berry was also their last player to win a postseason award, as he won the Thorpe Award that same year.

Heading into 2018, the Vols are coming off their worst season ever. As a result, they have only one preseason All-SEC player and very few people who bring high expectations to the table. So it’s hard to see anybody really garnering major national respect.

Tennessee football only had one All-SEC player last year, so with a new head coach and new systems on both sides of the ball, you would naturally see few expectations this year. But is there a chance anybody on Jeremy Pruitt’s first team could break through?

In this post, we’re going to break down if that’s possible. The Vols may have been awful last year, but if recruiting services mean anything, they have talent. So with the right coaching and the proper schemes, they could have a better chance to see more guys shine than they did under Butch Jones, who too often limited talent by forcing his system on players.

You’d have to think Pruitt, with Tyson Helton and Kevin Sherrer, would do a better job maximizing his players’ skills. That’s not going to be the only factor, though, in determining who gets postseason recognition.

Our criteria also includes who is most likely to play and see the most action. What we know about the systems on both sides of the ball, and which players they will benefit the most, is also a big part of this. Finally, we obviously have to just factor in overall talent.

Rocky Top is looking to turn a new page with the Pruitt era. Perhaps players with skill will finally be utilized enough to get national attention. Let’s look at who can do that here. These are the 10 Tennessee football players most likely to achieve postseason recognition.

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