Tennessee football’s top 10 underclassmen back for 2021 spring practice

6’0″ 190 pounds; Hometown: Suwanee, Ga.

Sometimes issues facing teams one year pay off in the long run. Warren Burrell was thrust into a starting role as a true freshman in 2019 during Tennessee football’s first two games due to Bryce Thompson being suspended at the time. Now, two years later, he’s got the experience to help offset Thompson’s early departure.

The graduate of North Gwinnett High School in Georgia’s Gwinnett County has been a rotational cornerback for the Vols ever since. He started four games in 2019 and then another four in 2020 while playing in eight games that year. So the previous staff clearly liked him.

Now, to this point, Burrell hasn’t been anything spectacular. He had 13 tackles, six of which were solo in 2019 and another 17, 15 of which were solo in 2020 with a pass defended. Given how bad UT’s secondary was last year, this may not be a good sign.

However, experience counts for something, and there aren’t too many underclassmen on the roster with the playing experience Burrell has. As a result, he’s done enough for us to put him on this list, and with a new defensive scheme and likely a larger role, he has a chance to begin to showcase his skills this year.