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Ranking Tennessee football’s 11 freshman 2021 early enrollees with most to gain

By Caleb Calhoun

Brentwood wide receiver Walker Merrill poses for a portrait at Brentwood High School Nov. 10, 2020. Merrill signed with Tennessee.Brentwood 111020 An 001
Brentwood wide receiver Walker Merrill poses for a portrait at Brentwood High School Nov. 10, 2020. Merrill signed with Tennessee.Brentwood 111020 An 001 /
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Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

For 11 Tennessee football true freshmen, spring practice will be their first chance to showcase their abilities against college competition. The Vols’ 2021 recruiting class had 14 non-junior college signees, and eight of them enrolled in January. Another three walk-ons have also enrolled.

As Josh Heupel installs his new system and focuses on building for the future, all of these players have as much of a chance as anybody else to make an impression for spring ball. In this post, we’re going to rank them by who has the biggest opportunity.

Our criteria include the expectations of them from a talent perspective and how open the position they play is on the roster. This is how Tennessee football’s true freshman early enrollees stack up against each other based on those factors.

Scouting Report. Quarterback. Waxhaw, N.C.. 11. player. 839. Pick Analysis. Sully McDermott

6’4″ 212 pounds

We put multiple walk-ons on the first page. Sully McDermott is one of the six quarterbacks on the Vols’ roster. He joined UT out of Marvin Ridge High School in North Carolina and will take part in the QB race with everybody else.

However, McDermott is already a walk-on, and being an early enrollee doesn’t give him any built-in advantage. All five other quarterbacks are there for the spring as well. Because he’s the one walk-on who isn’t a specialist, we had to put him down here.

Long snapper. Grant Reid. 839. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Chattanooga, Tenn.. 10. player

6’1″ 230 pounds

By being a specialist that always involves walk-ons, Grant Reid has a better chance to play for Rocky Top than many walk-ons. However, the in-state product of Baylor School is actually going to a more loaded position than people realize.

Matthew Salansky handled all long snapping duties for Tennessee football last year, and Will Albright is a rare player who received a scholarship specifically for his abilities as a snapper. With those two on the roster, Reid doesn’t have much of a chance to play either.

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