We’ve discussed at length how loaded Tennessee football may be on the offensive line this year. It’s a far cry from where the Vols were when Jeremy Pruitt took over in 2018. There’s a reason Marcus Tatum and Ryan Johnson transferred out this offseason despite being regulars in the rotation during Pruitt’s first year on Rocky Top. He has loaded up at this position.
Well, if Riley Locklear doesn’t take a redshirt himself, he may suffer the same fate Tatum and Johnson did last year: reduced playing time. The development of the younger guys plus the arrival of Cade Mays could leave him as the odd man out this year. Even if he is a rotational guy, he won’t meet his full potential as a starter, and that’s not fair given his talent.
Locklear is a great lineman and may even have an NFL future, but the 6’4″ 286-pound rising senior is at-best going to be a rotational guy this year with the arrival of Mays. Unless Mays doesn’t get his waiver, then Locklear will not be a starter. However, Smith and Kennedy are both seniors, so if Locklear takes this redshirt, he could join Mays as two seniors on the interior in 2021.
Pruitt and the Vols may want to consider this redshirt from their end as well. In addition to Smith and Kennedy, Jahmir Johnson is a rotational guy who is a redshirt senior. They won’t be able to have him back. As a result, Locklear redshirting could give them more experience up front in 2021, as Jerome Carvin, and K’Rojhn Calbert could then make up an all-senior offensive line.