Tennessee football’s five most concerning signs from 2022 spring practice

4. Backups didn’t seem to step up at cornerback amidst depth issues.

To be fair, Tennessee football was without Brandon Turnage, Warren Burrell, Kamal Hadden and De’Shawn Rucker in the spring due to injury. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets transfer Wesley Walker and Ohio State Buckeyes transfer Andre Turrentine haven’t arrived on campus yet.

Simply put, this unit will be much deeper in the fall. Burrell started last year, Hadden and Turnage are projected returning starters, Walker is a veteran, and Turrentine comes with a lot of hype. As a result, it’s fair if you don’t want to read anything into what is about to be said. After all, we’re talking about six absences with just three spots to fill.

However, more depth is always better, and at least one of the available cornerbacks standing out would have been a good thing. Instead, Christian Charles had to spend time working there. As a true safety, moving Charles to cornerback is a concerning sign about how deceivingly thin Tennessee football might be there.

Tamarion McDonald, meanwhile, was the only non-returning starter to receive a specific shoutout who was taking part in the spring, and he and the returning starters are all safeties. Neither Doneiko Slaughter nor junior college transfer Desmond Williams had any shoutouts in spring ball, and that’s a concern for Rocky Top.