4. Tight ends
We didn’t hear much about the tight ends during spring ball, but there were tidbits of evidence that they were doing well. With only Sean Brown in the transfer portal, Tennessee football didn’t enter the spring in bad shape here like it did other positions, but for Josh Heupel’s system, players certainly needed to step up and prove they could handle the offense.
In the spring game, numerous players stood out at this position. Princeton Fant had four catches for 56 yards, Hunter Salmon had a touchdown reception and Miles Campbell had an 18-yard catch. Austin Pope, who entered the portal but returned for the spring, didn’t come up much during coverage of spring ball, but that’s to be expected as more of a blocker.
With Campbell and Salmon both emerging and Fant proving he can be the go-to receiving tight end, this position seems to be in pretty good shape going forward. Jacob Warren is still on the roster as well, and he was there throughout the spring.
Based on what we saw during that period in March and April, Fant and Pope are likely to once again be the main tight ends with different roles. If that’s the case, everything should be fine this year, and the spring showed enough signs for the future.