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

Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.

Much sooner than expected, Henry To’o To’o was thrust into a leadership role for Tennessee football last year. He was not an early enrollee but earned a spot in the starting lineup during fall camp. An injury that kept Daniel Bituli out of the first two games led to Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley relying on To’o To’o, a true freshman, as the signal caller for the defense early on.

That lack of experience combined with a couple of other key injuries are what created the disaster in the loss to the Georgia State Panthers, and the aftermath of that led to the heartbreaking loss to the BYU Cougars. To’o To’o wasn’t ready. However, Pruitt and Ansley kept their faith in him, even after Bituli returned, and throughout the year, he continued to develop.

By the end of the season, he was seasoned. In the Gator Bowl win over the Indiana Hoosiers, Bituli got hurt again, but To’o To’o stepped up and kept the defensive playing at an elite level. He had fully developed, and that earned him numerous Freshman All-American honors and a spot on the SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman team. So going out West paid off here for UT.

The 6’2″ 235-pound inside linebacker out of De La Salle High School in California ended up leaduing last year’s team with 72 tackles, 33 of which were solo, to go with five tackles for a loss, two pass deflections and a fumble recovery. Now, entering this year, he’s expected to be the heart of the defense. That’s enough for us to put him near the top of this list.