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Tennessee football: Top 10 out-of-state Vols on 2020 roster

By Caleb Calhoun

JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers warms up prior to the start of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers at TIAA Bank Field on January 2, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - JANUARY 02: Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers warms up prior to the start of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl against the Indiana Hoosiers at TIAA Bank Field on January 2, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images
Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images /

player. Pick Analysis. Defensive Back. 1. Junior. Bryce Thompson. 839. Scouting Report

Hometown: Irmo, S.C.

The advanced metrics suggest Shawn Shamburger is Tennessee football’s best returning player. However, in reality, Bryce Thompson is probably that guy, and this just shows how elite the Vols may be at defensive back in 2020.

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A 5’11” 185-pound product of Dutch Fork High School in South Carolina, Thompson helps re-establish a pipeline into a key state. In 2018, he earned Freshman All-American honors with three interceptions, 10 pass deflections, a forced fumble, four tackles for a loss, a sack and 34 tackles, 24 of which were solo.

Last year, an off-field issue kept Thompson out of the first two games and knocked him out of football shape. There’s a reason the Vols lost both games, to the Georgia State Panthers and BYU Cougars. They had no bad losses the rest of the year.

Even without being in rhythm, Thompson still returned and matched his three-interception total, getting it all in one game, against the UAB Blazers. That was one of the best individual performances of the year. He also had another sack, two tackles for a loss, five pass deflections and 32 total tackles, 22 of which were solo.

Next. 10 best single seasons by Vols players of all time. dark

That same PFF College tweet that showed Shamburger allowing no touchdowns in 361 snaps noted that Thompson allowed no touchdowns in 325 snaps. As a result, he could be just as elite, and with a chance to have a full season again, Tennessee football’s top cornerback should also be its best player. Taking all this into account, he should clearly top our list.

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