Tennessee football: Strongest metro areas for Vols on 2019 roster

9. Huntington, W. Va.

Yes, the hometown of the Marshall Thundering Herd of all places are on here. Huntington, W. Va. has two offensive linemen for Tennessee football. Although one of them is just a recruit, he will be a scholarship player when the season begins.

And that one recruit, Darnell Wright, is a five-star who is in the running to immediately become a starter for the Vols, especially if Trey Smith can’t get fully healthy. He’s the highest-rated recruit that Jeremy Pruitt has lured to Rocky Top so far.

The offensive lineman currently on the roster, junior offensive lineman Riley Locklear, has been a regular in the rotation for the past two years. He fell a bit deeper into the depth chart this year, but that’s largely due to him being limited in spring ball.

Locklear is likely to once again be in the rotation on the interior line this Fall once he fully returns to form. As a result, the Vols are likely to end up having two significant players from Huntington in the offensive line rotation, which is pretty impressive. In fact, if things break a certain way, they could have two starters from Huntington in the rotation.

The only reason Huntington is not higher on this list is because of the questions surrounding Locklear and the fact that Wright hasn’t played a game. But the projections are there for this metro area deep in Appalachia, which also includes Ashland, Ky. and Ironton, Ohio, to be a major factor on Rocky Top this year.