Tennessee football’s five biggest spring practice position battles for 2022

Lots of talent is back for Tennessee football, but that doesn’t mean Josh Heupel heads into the 2022 season without having do address roster turnover. Plenty of guys are gone, and a few of them have a good bit of NFL potential, so replacing them is going to be difficult. Spring practice is the first step toward doing that.

Races to start at any position aren’t usually settled in the spring, but they can begin then and have a huge factor when the fall arrives. This year, with the quarterback not being one of the races, Heupel and co. can focus a lot more of their efforts elsewhere. That’s a huge advantage.

It’s important to note that these races in the spring are contingent on who has arrived, as some of them will be less relevant due to the number of newcomers involved with them who won’t arrive until the summer or fall camp. Taking that into account, here is a ranking of Tennessee football’s five biggest position battles in spring practice for 2022.

5. Return specialist

Velus Jones Jr. is gone. As a result, the Vols have a major opening and punt returner and kickoff returner this year. Replacing Jones will obviously be difficult, as he earned All-SEC last year specifically due to his ability as a return specialist. Heupel has some options, but he’ll have a lot of work to do to find Jones’ replacement.

Jimmy Holiday returned five kickoffs last year and averaged over 25 yards a return. He’s the most likely option there. De’Shawn Rucker, Christian Charles and Jaylen Wright could all compete with him on kickoff and punt returns. Rucker and Charles each blocked a punt last year with their speed.

Then there are tons of early enrollees who could make a difference here, including all the receivers and maybe even running back Justin Williams. However, none of the newcomers at defensive back have arrived, and Dylan Sampson, an all-purpose back, hasn’t arrived either, so while Tennessee football has open competition, it’s not complete.