Tennessee football: 10 toughest Vols to replace for 2020 season

How often is a long snapper on the list of top guys who will be missed? Well, as we mentioned in our opening slide, Tennessee football didn’t lose lots of talent, and many of the guys they did lose are at positions that are now loaded with depth thanks to how Jeremy Pruitt restocked the roster.

One of the areas, however, where he did not restock the roster with proven talent waiting in the wings is long snapper. Riley Lovingood is not the Vols’ only loss on special teams, to be fair. They also lost punter Joe Doyle to transfer, but Paxton Brooks became the starter there halfway through last year anyway, so that’s why he didn’t make the list.

Anyway, Lovingood was a four-year starter, and last year he moved into being the long snapper on both punts and field goals. Remember, he shared SEC Player of the Week honors as a freshman due to his exploits as a long snapper. Lovingood caught a Trevor Daniel punt back in 2016 that pinned the Georgia Bulldogs inside their own five-yard line.

This was the Joshua Dobbs to Jauan Jennings Hail Mary game, but Lovingood’s play allowed for UT to score a defensive touchdown off a strip-sack by Derek Barnett thanks to that field position that Lovingood set up. Anyway, Pruitt has a couple of guys, but nobody proven to replace him. And yes, snapping is critical to punting and field goal success.