Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols media session pre-fall camp 2022

3. Newcomers already impacting the return game

One of the standouts for Tennessee football in the slot has been Marquarius “Squirrel” White, and he is a guy in line to replace Velus Jones Jr., even if he isn’t the favorite. Well, slot receiver isn’t the only position where Jones could replace White, as he is also a favorite in the return game, and that’s a big deal.

The Vols lost one of their best returners in history last year in Jones. White was mentioned as one of their candidates to replace him, either on punt returns or kickoff returns. That was expected, though. Him not being the only newcomer expected to replace White is the real shocker.

In addition to White, junior college transfer defensive back Dee Williams, who joined the team in the spring, was mentioned as a potential replacement for Jones. Whether that replacement is on punt returns of kickoff returns remains to be seen, but what’s clear is he gives the coaching staff another option to address their potential issues on special teams.

Of course, Rocky Top also has returning talent, most notably in Jimmy Holiday, to fill these voids in the return game, but White and Williams could help them in a significant way. Williams being mentioned here is really the story for the Vols and is good news for them going forward.