Tennessee football’s top five true freshmen most likely to play in 2022

With Matthew Butler gone, Tyre West could find himself in Tennessee football’s defensive tackle rotation earlier than expected.

The Addison Nichols on the defensive side of the ball, Tyre West is another guy who was on here in the winter and has really stayed on here. Like Nichols, this somewhat comes with the hype, as he was one of the most highly touted recruits in Tennessee football’s 2022 class, and his merits alone drew interest from national media.

However, West then stood out in the spring. It was revealed that Aubrey Solomon was no longer on the roster either, and with Matthew Butler gone to the NFL, all of this meant that West could see some action early. Last year proved that Rodney Garner loves to go deep on the defensive line.

In the middle alone, the Vols used Butler, Omari Thomas, Elijah Simmons, Da’Jon Terry and LaTrell Bumphus. Of course, Butler is gone now, and while Simmons is healthy, everybody else is back and Kurott Garland adds more competition by returning to health, the hype behind West is what suggests he can see the field.

Some players have such rare talent that you do what you can to get them out there no matter what. West appears to be the type of player who brings that to the table, and he had a successful spring despite not drawing as much attention in fall camp. That’s enough to put him on here.