Tennessee football: Top 10 SEC stars 2019 Vols have to account for

The Kentucky Wildcats lose everybody from last year and, despite their best season in decades, still managed to get blown out by Tennessee football. However, that 24-7 loss was at Neyland Stadium. Mark Stoops’s team is hoping it will be different in Lexington. His best chance of making it a game is for Lynn Bowden Jr. to step up.

A wide receiver and return specialist, the 6’1″ 199-pound junior burst onto the scene last year with 67 receptions for 745 yards and five touchdowns. However, his efforts in the return game are what made him a star.

Bowden averaged nearly 22 yards a kickoff return. Meanwhile, he averaged nearly 30 yards a punt return. Now, to be fair, he only returned five punts. But he ran back two of them for touchdowns. Simply put, he’s elite with the ball in his hands.

Marquez Callaway, the Vols’ return specialist generating headlines, obviously made headlines on offense last year by catching the Hail Mary at halftime against UK. Bowden maybe looking to one-up him, so if UT is going to continue its ownership of the Wildcats, Callaway will need to build off what he did last year. If not, Bowden could be the reason Kentucky gets the revenge it wants.