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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 Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images
Photo by Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images /

Right Guard

1. Cade Mays; Junior

Depite his eligibility waiver being initially denied, we’re still assuming Cade Mays’ appeal will work out. If it does, he will immediately step in as Tennessee football’s starter at right guard. Like Trey Smith and Wanya Morris, Mays earned Freshman All-SEC and Freshman All-American honors. He did it in 2018, and he started 11 games in 2019, all for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Mays transferred to UT this offseason, where he was a legacy player already. The Knoxville product always preferred UT, where his brother, Cooper, also just committed. It was the Butch Jones disaster that pushed him away. At 6’6″ 328 pounds, he has started at every position, but right guard is his opening here. And if he can go, he needs to start.

2. Riley Locklear; Senior

If the NCAA does not grant Cade Mays his eligibility waiver, Jerome Carvin will start here. However, Carvin will otherwise will be locked into the backup center role and the first interior blocker off the bench in general. The next one will be Riley Locklear, a proven veteran who can also be a backup guard or center and is experienced in the system.

Last year, the 6’4″ 286-pound blocker played in 11 games and had two starts. Almost all of his experience is playing on the inside, and he has been a reliable player in the rotation for two years. Regardless of what happens, he’ll be a key player in the offensive line rotation, and Jeremy Pruitt and Jim Chaney will need everything they can get from him.

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