Tennessee football: Ranking Vols position groups by spring practice play

6. Special Teams

Position coach: Kevin Sherrer

Notable players: Brent Cimaglia, Joe Doyle, Paxton Brooks

We put special teams right in the middle of the pack simply because there was very little to make of it. Tennessee football has a built-in place-kicker, a built-in punter and a built-in kickoff specialist. They also have an established long-snapper.

Simply put, the Vols already stand out with the players they have at those positions, and nothing in the spring was really going to change anything about that. Brent Cimaglia showed his promise last year as a field goal kicker. The same is true for Joe Doyle on punts and Paxton Brooks on kickoffs.

Now, you could say more needed to be revealed about the return game. But we know a good bit about that as well, and it was naturally going to be limited throughout the spring in order to avoid any unnecessary injuries. Ty Chandler and Bryce Thompson, after all, are the main returners.

With the arrival of guys like Eric Gray in the summer, we could see more involvement with the special teams when fall camp arrives. But for now, everything is pretty set in stone, and the unit did nothing to stand out or fall off the map during spring practice.

As a result, we had to keep this group smack in the middle. Assuming Cimaglia and Doyle improve this year and turn their flashes into consistency, the Vols could have a very strong special teams unit. But we’re going to have to wait until we hear more about that or see it during the season before making any judgments.