Tennessee football: 10 Vols likeliest to win postseason awards in 2020

All-SEC

Similar to Jaylen McCullough, this is a projection. Kivon Bennett was a co-starter with Deandre Johnson opposite Darrell Taylor as an edge rusher last year. In that role, the 6’2″ 245-pound outside linebacker had a bit of a breakout season for Tennessee football, one that has raised expectations for him this year with Taylor gone.

Last year, Bennett had six tackles for a loss, two sacks, 27 tackles and a pass deflection. He had two of his tackles for a loss in the Vols’ comeback win to beat the Indiana Hoosiers in the Gator Bowl, showing that he clearly was getting better as the season went on. This is clearly a player who is great at simply wreaking havoc in the backfield, just like Taylor.

We expect Jeremy Pruitt and new outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton to certainly turn more to the graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida this year. Derrick Ansley will probably incorporate him as the feature guy in many more of his blitz packages, and he could turn that mini-breakout year into a year of stardom for the 2020 Vols.

Of course, the way defenders move around and guys rotate in and out, particularly in the front seven, makes it unlikely that the redshirt junior get anything beyond All-SEC. However, he’s in great position to at least earn that this year, as Taylor should’ve earned it in both 2018 and 2019. So watch out for him to make a name for himself.