Tennessee football: Top 10 in-state Vols on 2019 roster

We go to West Tennessee now for this next player, specifically Haywood County. Emmit Gooden is not a returning starter like Joe Doyle or Brent Cimaglia, but he’s still a projected starter, unlike K’Rojhn Calbert and Austin Pope. And since he’s a projected starter on defense and not special teams, he is enough to just slightly be ahead of Doyle and Cimaglia.

Tennessee football has to replace its entire defensive line this year with the departures of Alexis Johnson, Kyle Phillips and Shy Tuttle. Even Paul Bain, another contributor as a reserve, is gone. So the only returning contributor is Gooden, leaving tons of questions about this team up front.

The 6’3″ 302-pound senior didn’t come to Knoxville immediately from Brownsville, as he spent two years in junior college. However, he was a four-star prospect from within the state when he committed, so now is his chance to shine. Gooden showed flashes last year and was the only player who could provide adequate depth.

There are other players, like Aubrey Solomon and incoming junior college transfer Savion Williams, who are newcomers and major candidates to start at defensive tackle alongside Gooden. But Gooden is clearly the one guy who is all but certain to be a first-teamer, and that makes him a crucial player on the Vols from within the state for this year.