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Tennessee football: Five fall camp position battles

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Josh Palmer #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers gestures for a first down during the first half of a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 12: Josh Palmer #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers gestures for a first down during the first half of a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images /

5. Tight end

This wasn’t supposed to make the list. Even with the departure of Dominick Wood-Anderson, Tennessee football had Austin Pope lined up ready to start in his place. However, Pope revealed earlier in the summer that he had to have surgery due to a herniated disc, and he’s been playing with a few bangs and bruises over the past couple of years.

As a result, there is more of an opening than initially thought. Combine that with the fact that Jim Chaney and Jeremy Pruitt liked to use multiple tight ends on the field at a time often last year, including at fullback, and Pope’s injury really opens things up. So where will the coaches turn during fall camp to make sure they have the proper depth?

One guy in place is Princeton Fant, who converted to tight end last year and saw regular action behind Pope and Wood-Anderson. Jordan Allen, who was a four-star junior college transfer at edge rusher in 2018, missed all of last year due to injury and has now converted to tight end. He could end up seeing a surprise amount of action this year.

Then there is lots of young talent in redshirt sophomore Jacob Warren and redshirt freshmen Jackson Lowe and Sean Brown. All three of these guys were targeted specifically by Pruitt to be the program’s tight ends of the future. Could this be the year one or two of them emerge? It’s possible. Keep an eye on who stands out, particularly as the receiving tight end, in fall camp.

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