Tennessee football’s top five redshirt freshmen for 2022
Josh Heupel only signed one player in last year’s recruiting class, and he was a junior college transfer. As a result, it’s almost impossible to know what to make of many of the true freshmen who redshirted for Tennessee football last year. Not too many of them are on the roster to begin with since Heupel had to play a lot of young guys.
That doesn’t mean Heupel has no options among redshirt freshmen. He’s brought in two transfers who are in that class, and he did sign plenty of walk-ons last year. Also, there was a good reason for some of them to redshirt, so many have a fair shot at starting.
As we get set to break down the second-year freshmen most likely to have an impact on the Vols, it was pretty easy to make this list. Only three are returning players who were on scholarship last year, and two more were transfers. How do they rank? Here are Tennessee football’s top five redshirt freshmen for 2022.
These Tennessee football Volunteers’ redshirt freshmen players are most likely to have an impact in Josh Heupel’s second season.
839. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Tight end. 6'7 250 lbs. Charlie Browder. 5. player
A transfer to Tennessee football from the UCF Knights, Charlie Browder has the unique distinction of signing with Josh Heupel twice.
He’s one of the only redshirt freshmen or true sophomores on the Vols Josh Heupel actually signed. Initially from the Tri-Cities area, Charlie Browder committed to UCF when Heupel was there. However, Heupel then took the job with the Vols, and rather than transfer, Browder spent last year playing under Gus Malzahn.
Well, he took a redshirt, and he’s now reunited with Heupel. It made perfect sense, as he’s from East Tennessee and has a connection to its new head coach. Given his frame, Browder brings a unique amount of potential to the tight end position, and clearly Heupel likes him.
It’s unclear if Alex Golesh will incorporate Browder into the offense this year, but he’s definitely part of the future plans. Also, he is one injury away from seeing action for Tennessee football, so watch out for what he does. Again, Heupel targeted him for a reason, and his size could make him a huge mismatch for opposing defenses this year.