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Tennessee football: Vols top 5 returning underclassmen for 2019 spring practice

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images /

Hey, special teams guys count as starters. And both were sophomores for the Vols last year. Joe Doyle hasn’t proven he’s going to continue the Tennessee football tradition of Punter U, but he has proven his reliability.

Last year, Doyle was very good with the hang time of his punts, preventing very few returns. Despite leading the SEC with 65 punts, he allowed the fewest returns of 15 yards or more, only eight. Doyle did it at a sacrifice to his overall average, which was 41.1 yards a punt, but it’s more important to make sure that the punts pin people deep anyway.

Of Doyle’s 65 punts, 28 were fair-caught, and 23 were pinned inside the 20-yard line. He also showed he has the leg, with 12 punts going beyond 50 yards, and one punt even went as far as 71 yards. This is all coming from a guy who shocked the world by beating out Paxton Brooks for the starting job anyway.

Doyle is clearly a reliable punter who won’t give the Vols any trouble, and usually people take second-year leaps anyway on special teams. That means he could be a star this year and a major advantage, which the Vols could use.

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