Tennessee football: Top 10 SEC stars Vols have to account for in 2022

All-SEC and All-American teams are out, and it’s safe to say Tennessee football will have to face a lot of players on those teams this year. The Vols’ eight-game SEC schedule includes the two teams who load up both list and will likely do so on a yearly basis, so it makes it difficult to determine who the best players they’ll face are.

As we get set to break down the top players on SEC opponents of UT this year, they are heavily geared toward those teams. Not everybody on the Vols’ schedule has a player that they’ll have to truly key in on, and honestly, given where they are, every team shouldn’t have one.

There’s hope that the Vols actually have a couple of circled SEC wins, and they should almost certainly have at least one. Every other team will be difficult, though, and let’s look at who on those teams will be responsible for that. Here are the 10 biggest SEC stars Tennessee football will have to account for in 2022.

5’11” 190 pounds

It’s the year of the quarterback. The Vols face a few potential big names this year, including three quarterbacks Tim Tebow has ranked ahead of Hendon Hooker. Two of those quarterbacks, though, Spencer Rattler of the South Carolina Gamecocks and Anthony Richardson of the Florida Gators, didn’t make this list.

Instead, a player Tebow didn’t have ahead of Hooker is on here. Stetson Bennett of the Georgia Bulldogs isn’t getting the respect he deserves. He was actually the only quarterback more efficient than Hooker last year, averaging 10 yards an attempt, and he’s back to reclaim his respect.

Bennett threw for 2,862 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also proved his mobility by rushing for 259 yards and a touchdown. In most years, that would be good enough to make a case to be the best quarterback in the SEC, but it’s so deep this year with quarterbacks like Tennessee football’s, it’s not.