Tennessee football 2020 preview by position: Special teams

Projected backup kickoff specialists

Brent Cimaglia; Senior; 6’0″ 210 pounds; Nashville, Tenn.

Obviously, if Paxton Brooks is not going to kick the ball off for Tennessee football, Brent Cimaglia will take on that role. He did have 10 kickoffs as a freshman, and four of them went for touchbacks, so he has proven himself to be solid in this role. Meanwhile, his 53-yard field goal last year proved he had leg power. As a result, he’s clearly the No. 2 guy on this list.

Brett Graham; Redshirt junior; 6’3″ 200 pounds; State College, Pa.

Beyond Cimaglia and Brooks, Brett Graham is the only person with any experience kicking at all at the college level. As a result, there’s a chance he steps in and becomes the kickoff specialist for the Vols if something doesn’t work out for Brooks. Now, he doesn’t actually have any experience on kickoffs, but the experience he does have warrants him being the No. 3 guy on here.

Projected backup long snapper

Will Albright; Freshman; 6’2″ 200 pounds; Greeneville, Tenn.

A two-star center in the Vols’ 2020 recruiting class, the in-state product of Greeneville High School is a rare specialist in that he actually earned a scholarship as an offensive lineman. As a result, Will Albright could be a uniquely valuable long snapper, and people shouldn’t sleep on the difference he could make in that role. He’ll compete with Matthew Salansky for the starting role.

Projected backup holder

Paxton Brooks; Junior; 6’6″ 194 pounds; Lexington, S.C.

We are back to Brooks for this one. Last year, he was the holder for Cimaglia, though, so it wouldn’t be a shocker to see him resume that role again. However, he made some mistakes in this role, so he has some improvement to do if he takes it on again.