Tennessee football: 5 needs for Vols to address in 2020 recruiting class

3. Inside Linebackers

Similar to offensive linemen, Tennessee football addressed this issue for 2019 with the commitments of Henry To’oto’o and Quavaris Crouch. However, Darrin Kirkland Jr. and Daniel Bituli will be gone after this year. Will Ignont and Shanon Reid will be gone after 2020.

So Crouch, To’oto’o and JJ Peterson are the only guys who will be on the roster beyond that point. As a result, Jeremy Pruitt will once again have immediate work to do to build up his depth at this position. This would have been the case even if Lakia Henry had not decommitted since he was a junior college transfer.

The fact that Crouch could play running back also makes this a need again on the 2020 recruiting trail. Pruitt said he is looking for inside linebackers who can play all four roles in his 3-4 system, but to do that, he’s got to build more depth. Right now, there just aren’t enough guys who could make that rotation, and he’s not set to go two-deep by 2021 yet.

Simply put, the Vols aren’t in serious trouble here, but without more recruiting at the position, they aren’t going to have much wiggle room in the future. It’s also worth noting that there is almost no proven talent on the roster yet beyond 2019, and that’s another reason Pruitt needs to build depth here. He needs multiple options when looking for a starter. The lack of proven talent and need for more bodies naturally put this position on the list.