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Tennessee football: Five positions battles heading into Vols 2020 spring practice

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images /

1. Wide receiver

This was one of the biggest concerns for Tennessee football that everybody saw coming late last year. The Vols’ top two receivers and top two playmakers on offense, Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway, are gone. Callaway also technically leaves an opening at punt return, but that’s not as big of a deal and will likely not be solved until fall camp.

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Wideout, meanwhile, is wide open. The favorites to replace these two are Josh Palmer and Brandon Johnson. Both will be seniors. Palmer has been a top playmaker beyond Callaway and Jennings the past two years, and Johnson, who took a redshirt in 2019, did lead the team in receiving back in 2017. So both of these guys have a history of production.

Beyond them, Ramel Keyton provided a couple of sparks this past year. He could end up making a run at one of the starting spots, and there’s still an opening in the slot. That could also go to Cedric Tillman or Deangelo Gibbs, the latter of whom sat out last year after transferring from the Georgia Bulldogs but was an athlete who moved over to wide receiver.

Then there are two new transfers arriving in the spring in Velus Jones Jr. from the USC Trojans and Miles Jones from the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Both could get a look as well. Jeremy Pruitt also secured three four-star receivers in the 2020 class and an athlete who will likely play wideout.

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So Tennessee football has lots of guys coming in and two favorites. But spring will still leave things wide open, and lots of players could get a look at one of the receiver positions. That makes this the top battle over the next month.

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