Tennessee football: Ranking Vols 10 early enrollees for 2019 spring practice

There is no debate about where Tennessee football has its biggest need heading into 2019. It’s all in the trenches due to the departure of al the elite defensive linemen and how historically bad last year’s offensive line was.

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The Vols don’t have any early enrollees on the defensive line. But on the offensive line, with three spots clearly set to be open and all five spots probably up for grabs, could use all the help it gets. Enter Chris Akporoghene.

A four-star offensive lineman from Florida, Akporoghene gets a huge advantage over Jeremy Pruitt’s elite 2019 offensive line class by being an early enrollee. He isn’t as highly-rated as other guys in the class, but his talent is evident.

The Vols will need to coach and develop these players, and with 15 extra practices, Akproghene could be way ahead of the other newcomers when fall camp arrives. More than any other position, his advantage of being an early enrollee is pretty straightforward.

Now, Akproghene is listed as an offensive tackle, so he probably wants to put on a bit more weight before he’s fully ready to go. That’s where summer workouts come in. But getting here in the spring is still a huge advantage. Heck, he may be able to spend more time learning guard in the spring because of his size. Either way, being an early enrollee opens up possibilities.

It’s clear that Jeremy Pruitt, Jim Chaney and Will Friend are going to give early looks to the newcomers on the offensive line. As a result, getting there in the spring is undoubtedly going to be hugely important.