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Tennessee football’s 10 toughest players to replace for 2022

By Caleb Calhoun

Nov 6, 2021; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Theo Jackson (26) and defensive back Alontae Taylor (2) celebrate during the fourth quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2021; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive back Theo Jackson (26) and defensive back Alontae Taylor (2) celebrate during the fourth quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 30, 2021; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Ja’Quain Blakely (48) before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers during the 2021 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2021; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Ja’Quain Blakely (48) before the game against the Purdue Boilermakers during the 2021 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Defensive lineman. Out of eligibility. 839. Ja'Quain Blakely. 7. player

Undrafted

Similar to Caleb Tremblay, Ja’Quain Blakely played the role of a hybrid defensive lineman in Tim Banks’ nickel-heavy 4-3 base defense. That switch made by Tennessee football fit Blakely perfectly. At 6’1″ 269 pounds, it made him too much of a tweener for the pros, but he was a versatile lineman who could play anywhere up front in college.

Blakely was the primary guy to do that over Tremblay, and he finished the season with five tackles for a loss, one and a half sacks and 29 tackles, nine of which were solo. It was by far his best year, and his career dates back to playing under Butch Jones and Bob Shoop in 2017.

Anyway, Blakely and Tremblay are really hard to replace together. Dominic Bailey is the only hybrid defensive tackle on the roster right now, and Jayson Jenkins, who arrives in the summer, will be the second one, but there’s no proof either can replace what these two guys did.

For his part, Blakely was always reliable when his number was called. Again, these aren’t guys who will leap off your TV screen, but what they provided combined with who’s there to replace them makes the losses tough. Of the two, Blakely is the bigger loss, so he’s a couple spots higher on the list.

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