Tennessee football: Five needs for Vols to address in 2021 recruiting class
2. Defensive Tackle
Outside rushers up front and at linebacker have already made the list. However, Tennessee football is clearly going to need help at defensive tackle beyond this year, which is a year when they should be loaded at the position.
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The Vols return all of their key contributors from last year at the position: Aubrey Solomon, Darel Middleton, Greg Emerson and Savion Williams. Meanwhile, Emmit Gooden Jr. is returning after a season-ending injury. Here’s the problem. Everybody we just named outside of Emerson is going to be a senior this year.
Now, there are other guys ready to go for the future. Jeremy Pruitt secured commitments from four-stars Dominic Bailey and Omari Thomas, and Kingston Harris, Kurrott Garland and Elijah Simmons are all still part of the roster. That gives Pruitt six guys to work with in 2021 after all these other players leave for the pros.
However, only Emerson and Garland will have any valuable experience at that point. And defensive tackle is not like other positions. It’s one unit where the Vols need to go four-deep because of how demanding it can be, and they don’t have that right now.
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So despite Pruitt putting the unit in position to be deep enough beyond 2020, it’s still not where it will need to be. Pruitt and Derrick Ansley need as many reserves as possible up front, so he’s going to have to add more talent in this recruiting class. UT has to be as loaded in the trenches as possible to remain competitive in the SEC.