Tennessee football: Surprises from Vols season-opening depth chart

1. Multiple surprising possibilities on the defensive line

Chris Rumph had many instances in which he would run three guys up front who would all be defensive tackles in another system for Tennessee football. When Jimmy Brumbaugh took over, we figured the same principle would apply.

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However, while Jeremy Pruitt’s depth chart has Aubrey Solomon and Kurrott Garland locked in at nose tackle, it has two defensive ends in the other spots. Matthew Butler is locked in at one defensive end spot, and that makes sense because he’s the most standout one. What happened on the other side, though, is shocking.

LaTrell Bumphus was named a co-starter on the other side. Last year, Bumphus had a mini-breakout season as a pass-rusher despite having to learning the position while converting from tight end, so it makes sense. However, we didn’t expect it to be the case. The co-starter with Bumphus was Greg Emerson, who played nose tackle with Garland last year.

It’s all actually a bit shocking. Even Darel Middleton not being listed as a starter but a backup to Butler stands out. Brumbaugh and Derrick Ansley seem to be relying on flexibility on the three spots, but they clearly see a ton of potential in the seniors who were able to get around the edges last year. We didn’t see that coming.

Of course, this all comes as Pruitt was recently lamenting the issues in the pass rush for Tennessee football, so it could be a bit of a concern. With everybody back, however, that doesn’t make sense either, so we’ll just have to wait and see how it plays out.