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Tennessee football’s five biggest position battles for 2021 spring practice

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee quarterback Brian Maurer (18) warms up before a game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.101720 Tenn Ky Pregame
Tennessee quarterback Brian Maurer (18) warms up before a game between Tennessee and Kentucky at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020.101720 Tenn Ky Pregame /
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Bryson Eason places a University of Tennessee hat on his head before he signs his letter of intent to play for the Volunteers on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, at Whitehaven High School in Memphis.121819whitehavenhsfootballsigningday03
Bryson Eason places a University of Tennessee hat on his head before he signs his letter of intent to play for the Volunteers on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, at Whitehaven High School in Memphis.121819whitehavenhsfootballsigningday03 /

3. Linebacker

Honestly, this should have been No. 1. Tennessee football lost Quavaris Crouch, Henry To’o To’o and J.J. Peterson to the transfer portal, and while we have no idea what will become of Crouch and To’o To’o, Peterson is clearly gone. That leaves a wide open fight for all three linebacker spots in Tim Banks’ scheme, and even if he sticks to a 4-2-5, the two spots are wide open.

However, a key offseason arrest that resulted in the suspensions of four-star early enrollee Aaron Willis and redshirt freshman Martavius French hampered this a bit. Since both guys could still be back in the spring, we have it on the list. Also, if they’re not back in the spring, they’ll likely be dismissed, so we won’t have to wait until fall camp to see how the position battle shakes out.

Simply put, spring ball could give everybody a great idea as to where the new linebackers stand. With French and Willis gone, Banks and Josh Heupel will turn to Bryson Eason, Aaron Beasley, Jeremy Banks and Solon Page III. None of those guys have significant enough experience.

Of course, some of the edge rushers we named like Morven Joseph could move back here to play one of the outside linebacker spots, but what’s clear is that the battle at this position has already started. Anybody could start here, and they will likely be available at some point this spring.

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