Tennessee football: Top 10 dark horse Vols for 2020 season

These Tennessee football Volunteers could burst onto the scene this 2020 season.

A large number of returning starters has created an atmosphere of excitement surrounding Tennessee football as it enters the 2020 season. Even with the more brutal 10-game SEC-only schedule, Vols fans everywhere see plenty of reasons for high expectations.

Such few losses would seem to make it harder than usual for players on Rocky Top to have breakout seasons. Who could be the dark horse UT player nobody saw coming that burst onto the scene this year?

Given the fact that the few losses Tennessee football had were all at key positions, there are still multiple openings for new starters. Also, many units had by-committee starters last year, leaving plenty of room for players to emerge onto the scene.

In this post, we’re going to rank the dark horse Vols with the greatest chance to have breakout years. These players were on the team last year and have seen plenty of action, maybe even significant action, in the past, but haven’t emerged into stars.

All of these guys have a chance to emerge into such stars this season. They are almost all at positions where key players left, although a couple are high on the list because of other factors that could lead to them bursting onto the scene this year.

Obviously, breakout players are needed every year for teams to be successful. When you lose key talent, as Jeremy Pruitt did in 2019, you have to be able to replace it. Pruitt’s recruiting and his staff’s developing of players should have him in good position to find new stars now.

Which players could be those stars? How important is it that some of these guys manage to do that? Let’s break everything down here. These are our top 10 dark horse Tennessee football players with the best chance to have breakout seasons this year.