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Tennessee football: Ranking position groups for 2020

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: Jarrett Guarantano #2, J.T. Shrout #12 and Brian Maurer #18 of the Tennessee Volunteers warm up before facing the Georgia State Panthers during the season opener at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: Jarrett Guarantano #2, J.T. Shrout #12 and Brian Maurer #18 of the Tennessee Volunteers warm up before facing the Georgia State Panthers during the season opener at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images /

10. Tight end

In terms of depth of unproven talent, Tennessee football may be best at tight end. Redshirt sophomore Jacob Warren along with redshirt freshman Jackson Lowe and Sean Brown were all highly-touted recruits and have plenty of experience in the system now. As a result, one of them is bound to step in and become a reliable player in the system.

Meanwhile, Jordan Allen, once a four-star junior college transfer, has converted to tight end for his fifth-year senior season. However, the problem is none of those guys are proven. The one consistent starter at the position over the past two years, Dominick Wood-Anderson, is now gone as well, leaving a major opening for new tight ends coach Joe Osovet.

Now, this unit would have been higher, even without Wood-Anderson, if there were no injuries. Austin Pope was the starting run-blocking tight end last year, sometimes lining up at fullback, and Princeton Fant was a reliable backup. That combined with the likelihood that one or two of the unproven guys is bound to work out really helps offset this unit’s major loss.

However, Pope revealed in the offseason that he had back surgery to deal with a herniated disc. That surgery questions just how stable the Vols are at the position, as it means they have no completely healthy players with any starting experience at this position entering the year. That’s a big deal, and with no proven receiving tight end, we have to keep it last on the list for now.

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