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Projecting Tennessee football’s 2020 depth chart

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

Here are our projected starters for the 2020 Tennessee football Volunteers.

We didn’t get a full spring practice to really make our evaluations here, so this is much more guesswork than usual. However, Tennessee football has a ton of returning talent, and based on the expectations of those guys and what they put on display last year, it’s still possible to project what the roster will look like when kickoff hits for 2020.

Despite a top 10 recruiting class, the Vols are loaded with upperclassmen heading into the season. It’s a big reason that people expect a big leap for Jeremy Pruitt’s program, one that would continue on the strong finish to last year’s season.

However, the schedule is much tougher, and there are some key losses. As a result, if Tennessee football is going to improve in 2020, they will have to make sure they can sort out those specific questions about the roster.

What are those questions? How will they be answered by the time the season starts. As we get set to bring you our depth chart projections for the Vols in 2020, these are things we’re going to address. We will go heavily into detail.

Our projections will be for a two-deep depth chart. However, that does not mean it will go two-deep for every position. Some positions will go three-deep overall for two spots, and that’s because of the way Pruitt, Jim Chaney and Derrick Ansley like to rotate their rosters. The only real requirement is that offense and defense each go 22-deep.

For instance, on defense, Pruitt will sometimes use a 4-2-5 system, and other times he’ll use a 3-4. As a result, we have three defensive ends, three outside linebackers, three inside linebackers and three cornerbacks as part of the two-deep set in order to make sure we have two nickel slots available to cover.

On special teams, there are seven positions we will cover, including the ones nobody thinks about like long snapper and holder. Hey, UT has to address those issues if it is going to be successful, and history proves that. We’ll also take into account anticipated redshirts.

So how will this all shape up? What is Pruitt dealing with for 2020? Let’s break down all of those aspects of the roster here. These are our projections for Tennessee football’s two-deep depth chart heading into the season.

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