Tennessee football roster: Joe Doyle back, Jarrett Guarantano up to 230 pounds

The new Tennessee football Volunteers roster for 2020 was revealed on Thursday.

On Thursday, the updated Tennessee football 2020 roster was revealed on UTSports. These updates included numbers for new comers, changes in numbers, position and size for certain players, and the return of other players.

Rocky Top is in the midst of fall camp right now, which began at the beginning of the week, as Jeremy Pruitt and co. prepare for their 10-game SEC-only schedule set to begin Sept. 26 in these unique times. Over 130 players on UT’s roster this year.

Let’s take a look at what stood out on Tennessee football’s roster for 2020. We’ll analyze everything that happened that we didn’t already know would be the case before Pruitt revealed this list starting with news about the positions.

Position updates

Redshirt senior Jordan Allen converting from linebacker to tight end was already known. However, sophomore Aaron Beasley, converted from defensive back to linebacker. Those are the only two position changes for Tennessee football scholarship players. Walk-on Michael Bittner switched from quarterback to wide receiver. At 6’2″, Bittner also went from 208 to 222 pounds.

Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Kingston Harris stayed at defensive tackle. That was a bit of a surprise because he had been working with the offensive line at times, but it looks like this is where Jeremy Pruitt still prefers him.

When it comes to newcomers, we knew about Jimmy Holiday playing wide receiver. Athlete Len’Neth Whitehead will play running back. Two recruited strongside defensive ends are going elsewhere: Tyler Baron to linebacker, and Reginald Perry to offensive line. Athlete Dee Beckwith, will play wide receiver. Tamarion McDonald, recruited at linebacker, has moved to defensive back.

Numbers changes

There were five numbers changes involving players from last year. We already knew about junior cornerback Bryce Thompson going from No. 20 to being the first player to wear No. 0. Well, junior safety Trevon Flowers is going from No. 25 to No. 1, redshirt junior defensive back Kenneth George Jr. is going from No. 41 to No. 5.

Outside of the secondary, Jordan Allen’s conversion from linebacker to tight end resulted in hi switching his number from No. 8 to 86. Then there’s walk-on redshirt junior defensive lineman Gatkek Kueth, who went from No. 55 to No. 86.

Jarrett Guarantano at 230 pounds

This can’t be overlooked. A big part of Jarrett Guarantano’s appeal has been his ability to stand in the pocket and take hits. The 6’4″ redshirt senior has now gone from 215 pounds to 230 pounds, so he should even get tougher this year.

Joe Doyle back on roster

We thought Paxton Brooks would be locked into the starting punting job after Joe Doyle entered the transfer portal back in January. However, the junior is back on Tennessee football’s roster and will once again compete with Brooks.

Weight loss at inside linebacker and nose tackle

When Pruitt initially took over, his conditioning focused centered around the whole team gaining strength. Well, new strength coach A.J. Artis appears to have focused on players at certain positions losing weight.

Inside linebacker stood out here. Sophomore Henry To’o To’o, the star of the group, went from 232 to 225, losing seven pounds. Quavaris Crouch, another sophomore who could start, lost 11 pounds, going from 246 to 235. Redshirt sophomore J.J. Peterson lost eight pounds, from 233 to 225, and even walk-on senior Nick Humphrey went from 213 to 210 pounds.

At nose tackle, senior Savion Williams went from 304 to 290 pounds, and redshirt freshman Eljah Simmons went from 340 to 320 pounds. So they lost 14 and 20 pounds respectively. Redshirt sophomores Kurrott Garland and Greg Emerson each lost nine pounds, going from 304 to 295 and 309 to 300 respectively, and senior Darel Middleton lost six pounds, going from 311 to 305.

Now, there were exceptions to these rules. At linebacker, redshirt junior Solon Page III went from 218 to 220 pound. Redshirt sophomore Jeremy Banks stayed at 225, and sophomore Aaron Beasley moved up from 212 to 225 pounds, but Beasley converted, and Banks just came back onto the team. Senior defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon went from 299 to 315 pounds.

Weight gain at defensive end

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While tackle saw lots of people lose weight, the defensive ends on the line all gained weight. Senior LaTrell Bumphus stood out the most, going from 273 to 290 pounds. Walk-on sophomore Isaac Green was also a big deal, going from 260 to 284 pounds.

Other ends had less significant weight gains, but senior Matthew Butler still gained six pounts, going from 285 to 291, and John Mincey gained five, going from 271 to 276. Only Ja’Quain Blakely, who went from 284 to 285 pounds, didn’t have a significant gain on this list.

Almost all offensive linemen at 300 pounds or above

This has been a consistent focus of Jeremy Pruitt’s for years, and he’s one step closer to having all of his linemen above 300 pounds. This year, only Cooper Mays, a freshman who plays center, and sophomore Parker Ball didn’t get there. Mays is 295 pounds. Ball went from 284 to 291 pounds.

However, senior Riley Lockler went from 286 to 300 pounds, redshirt freshman Chris Akporoghene 296 to 305 pounds, and fifth-year senior Jahmir Johnson went from 290 to 300 pounds. Numerous other players had weight gain and weight losses, but the key was that they all stay above 300 pounds, and that almost happened.

Other notable weight changes

Josh Palmer; WR; Senior; 195-210 (+15 pounds)

Warren Burrell; DB; Sophomore; 176-190 (+14 pounds)

Theo Jackson; DB; Senior; 190-203 (+13 pounds)

Eric Gray; RB; Sophomore; 195-205 (+10 pounds) 

Bryce Thompson; DB; Junior; 181-190 (+9 pounds)

Deandre Johnson; LB; Senior; 246-255 (+9 pounds)

Brandon Johnson; WR; Redshirt Senior; 195-203 (+8 pounds)

Kenney Solomon; DB; Sophomore; 168-185 (+17 pounds)

Cheyenne Labruzza; DB; Redshirt junior; 185-197 (+12 pounds)

Matthew Salansky; LS; Sophomore; 225-239 (+14 pounds)

Princeton Fant; TE; Redshirt junior; 232-240 (+8 pounds)

Jacob Warren; TE; Redshirt sophomore; 241-248 (+7 pounds)

Ramel Keyton; WR; Sophomore; 189-195 (+6 pounds)

Hunter Salmon; TE; Redshirt freshman; 239-253 (+14 pounds)

Kwauze Garland; DB; Sophomore; 190-203 (+13 pounds)

Jay Shoop; DB; Redshirt junior; 194-206 (+12 pounds)

Fred Orr; RB; Sophomore; 200-212 (+12 pounds)

Steven Orr; QB; Sophomore; 194-201 (+7 pounds)

Yes, there were lots of defensive backs on the list of notable weight changes, but it wasn’t enough to suggest a trend. Of these, Josh Palmer gaining 15 pounds is a huge deal. He’s clearly primed and ready to be Tennessee football’s wideout. Eric Gray also looks like he’s ready to be the Vols’ full-time starter at running back by gaining 10 pounds.

There were other people whose weight fluctuated some one way or another, but it had to be greater than a five-pound change for us to consider it significant. Palmer, Gray, Brandon Johnson and a slew of defensive backs, most notably Bryce Thompson, still had significant weight gains to suggest Pruitt’s third team will be a lot more physical.