Tennessee football’s 10 toughest players to replace for 2022
Replacing talent is par for the course for every college team every year. It’s not nearly as bad for Tennessee football this year as it was last year, when the Vols suffered a wave of transfers due to the NCAA investigation and the transition from Jeremy Pruitt to Josh Heupel. Over half their starters had to be replaced.
However, even though it’s not as bad this year, there are still voids UT has to fill. They didn’t have five players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft and a sixth signed for nothing. Those players aren’t the only ones who provided value last year.
When you add in the transfer portal, it creates even more voids for Josh Heupel to fill, even with transfers coming in. Let’s rank each of them, based on the talent of the player leaving and the depth at that position. Here are Tennessee football’s 10 toughest players to replace from 2021 for this upcoming season.
Defensive back. Kenneth George Jr.. 839. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 10. player. Out of eligibility
Undrafted
His production decreased significantly during his final year with the Vols. A lot of that had to do with other players getting healthy from 2020, but the system change probably didn’t help. Still, Kenneth George Jr. appeared in eight games with the Vols, and he did five tackles, four of which were solo, and a tackle for a loss.
From a depth perspective, George was valuable to the secondary. He committed to Rocky Top as a junior college transfer in Jeremy Pruitt’s first class, back in 2018, and he spent most of his career in Big Orange Country filling in where other guys were hurt and providing valuable service.
As a solid backup cornerback, Tennessee football is losing somebody who was always there when needed. Despite the talent coming in, that’s not something you can overlook,, so George will be missed to a degree. He brought experience and a safety net to the Vols the past three years under Pruitt and Josh Heupel.