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Tennessee football: 10 Vols who should redshirt in 2020

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Riley Locklear #56 of the Tennessee Volunteers on the line of scrimmage before a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Riley Locklear #56 of the Tennessee Volunteers on the line of scrimmage before a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

Redshirting would help these Tennessee football Volunteers players for 2020.

Despite some key players leaving, Tennessee football has a ton of talent returning for 2020. That’s a big reason for high expectations surrounding the Vols entering Jeremy Pruitt’s third season on the job as head coach.

In fact, given how loaded some positions are with veterans in particular, some guys will be buried in the depth chart. There were cases of that last year, and it resulted in rising seniors choosing to take a redshirt so they could have more room for eligibility this year.

Running back Carlin Fils-Aime and wide receiver Brandon Johnson were the seniors who took that redshirt in particular, although defensive lineman Emmit Gooden took one due to a season-ending injury. Gooden and Johnson are expected to be major rotational players for Tennessee football this year, and Fils-Aime has a chance to be one.

With all the players, including the new recruits, set to arrive on campus throughout this week to complete the roster, it’s time to begin our breakdown of what UT will look like this Fall. Part of that is looking at who should take a redshirt, and in this post, we’re going to rank those athletes on Rocky Top who should do just that for 2020.

There are some athletes who will want to replicate the decisions made my Johnson and Fils-Aime. We will be looking at upperclassmen who could benefit from a redshirt just so they’ll have a fair chance to play after a few seniors graduate. However, our list will also include freshmen going to a position that is so loaded they will never see the field.

Many spots do have openings for young guys to compete, such as safety, so players will likely not be included in those. However, the spots loaded with upperclassmen, particularly seniors, and proven starters will have numerous players who could benefit from taking this year off.

So which athletes are we talking about? How much of an impact will they have on the Vols this year? Let’s break all of that down here. These are Tennessee football’s top 10 players who could benefit from redshirting in 2020.

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