Tennessee football: Of two freshmen back from suspension, one a huge boost

Martavius French and Isaac Washington were huge losses when they transferred. However, the other two Tennessee football players involved in an incident with them before the start of spring practice are now back.

According to Patrick Brown of GoVols247, quarterback Kaidon Salter and linebacker Aaron Willis have both been reinstated. These were two four-stars in UT’s 2021 class who had the chance to make an early impact, so them missing all of this spring due to the suspension was a big deal.

Obviously, the arrival of Josh Heupel and Tennessee football’s wide open quarterback race make Salter’s return a big deal. The dual-threat quarterback was expected to compete with Harrison Bailey, Hendon Hooker and Brian Maurer during the spring. With him and Joe Milton now set to compete in the fall, that race could be fierce.

However, the bigger story here is the return of Willis. It’s no secret the Vols have had major issues at linebacker. They lost Henry To’o To’o and Quavaris Crouch this offseason in the transfer portal to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Michigan Wolverines respectively. J.J. Peterson is still in the portal. Aaron Beasley is suspended indefinitely. As we mentioned, French is also in the portal.

Even outside linebackers transferred, as Deandre Johnson joined the Miami Hurricanes and Kivon Bennett, who was dismissed towards the end of last year, joined the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Simply put, this unit is depleted.

Heupel helped the situation by adding Texas Longhorns transfer Juwan Mitchell and Michigan Wolverines transfer William Mohan. However, even with the switch back to a 4-3 base that operates more out of the nickel, more depth was needed.

As a result, the reinstatement of Willis is a huge deal. Coming out of Baltimore, he’s a guy who is expected to be able to make a huge early impact for Tennessee football. At 5’11” 225 pounds, he’s already got the right size to be a starting linebacker in the SEC, and he could be a perfect fit for new defensive coordinator Tim Banks’ system.

Simply put, the return of Willis is a much bigger boost for UT than the return of Salter, even if Salter’s return is going to make more news given the position that he plays. To be fair, though, both add a necessary element to the roster.

Also, don’t count out Salter’s potential to change everything up as well for Tennessee football. Heupel’s system depends on the success of his quarterbacks, and Salter has the potential to completely take that over. Based on the depth chart, though, Willis’ return is the major boost.