Tennessee football: Five biggest reasons for excitement over Vols 2020 offseason

5. More young talent returning than other competitive SEC East schools

When it comes to returning starters, the Florida Gators at least lost 10 guys, and the Georgia Bulldogs at least lost eight. The numbers depend on which players may be considered effectively “starters, but the idea is the same. On the other hand, Tennessee football clearly only lost six starters: the only six seniors to be regular contributors on last year’s team.

Now, the Vols lost some key seniors in that group, which we mentioned in the opening slide, but that still puts them in better shape than the only two SEC schools they lost to. They are in better shape in every way.

In fact, nobody loses fewer starters in the East than the Vols, and the only teams to lose as few are the Missouri Tigers, who are coming off a bowl band and undergoing a coaching change, and the Vanderbilt Commodores, who just went 3-9 and lost to UT 28-10.

What about young talent coming back? Well, the Vols return five freshmen who were starters by the end of this past year: Wanya Morris, Darnell Wright, Henry To’o To’o, Greg Emerson and Jaylen McCullough. Nobody else in the East returns more than three starters who were freshmen.

As a result, the youth movement is real on Rocky Top, and the Vols also have as many or more returning starters. That means they are in the best position to make the biggest leap and have the most experience in the division, a major plus.