Tennessee football roster: Projecting Vols’ 2019 2-deep depth chart

Place-Kicker

1. Brent Cimaglia

Junior, 6’0″ 209 pounds

Last year, Brent Cimaglia proved his worth more than Aaron Medley ever did. He proved he can make field goals beyond 40 yards, which is a big deal for Tennessee football, and entering this year, he has the Vols set at place-kicker.

Cimaglia has not yet missed an extra point and a year and a half worth of starting, he’s 18-of-26 on field goal attempts, including going 10-of-13 last year, and he proved in 2017 that he can hit field goals beyond 50 yards. So this could be his season to breakout into a superstar as a place kicker if he develops just a bit more consistency.

2. Toby Wilson

Redshirt Freshman, 5’10” 177 pounds

A walk-on place kicker, Toby Wilson is not likely to see any action. He’s just No. 2 on this list because he’s the only other place-kicker the Vols have, so if something happens to Cimaglia, they’ll have no choice but to turn to him.

Kickoff Specialist

Paxton Brooks

Sophomore, 6’6″ 196 pounds

Paxton Brooks probably has the strongest leg of anybody on the Vols. He was a reliable kickoff specialist last year, so Jeremy Pruitt has every right to expect the same thing from him this year. There’s a reason he received ratings on the recruiting front for his leg power.

In 2019, Brooks had 23 kickoffs downed for touchbacks and was in the top 30 with a kickoff average of 63.6 yards. Also, all of the failed onside kick attempts weren’t on him. Brooks managed to place them perfectly usually, but somebody on the hands team wouldn’t execute.

Snapper

Jake Yelich

Redshirt Junior, 6’2″ 233 pounds

Elijah Medford is gone, so the Vols don’t have any proven returner on snappers for field goals this year, even if they still have their long-snapper. Jake Yelich is on the roster, though, so we expect that he’s going to resume the role this season.