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Tennessee football’s top five seniors of 2022

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman (4) catches the ball en route to a touchdown during a football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.Kns Tennessee Alabama Football Bp
Tennessee wide receiver Cedric Tillman (4) catches the ball en route to a touchdown during a football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021.Kns Tennessee Alabama Football Bp /
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He may have been a first-year head coach last year, but Josh Heupel relied on a bunch of veteran leadership with Tennessee football. Now, as a result, the Vols are loaded with seniors this year expected to make a huge impact on the season. However, they are actually loaded with two separate types of senior classes.

Our ranking of Vols seniors will include that separation. This post is the group of seniors who actually have a year of eligibility left due to the NCAA’s COVID 2020 ruling. There’s another group of seniors who are in their final year of eligibility no matter what, and we’ll get to them later.

In terms of projected impact, there’s not much difference between the two classes. This group is made up of numerous players who have been starting since they were freshmen, and those who don’t fit that mold were breakout stars last year. Here are Tennessee football’s top five seniors for 2022 who have two years of eligibility left.

These are the best Tennessee football Volunteers seniors entering Josh Heupel’s second year on the job.

Tennessee defensive back Jaylen McCollough (22) during a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021.Kns Tennessee Florida Football
Tennessee defensive back Jaylen McCollough (22) during a game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021.Kns Tennessee Florida Football /

6'0 205 lbs. Jaylen McCollough. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Defensive back. 5. 839

Having started the past two full seasons and part of 2019, safety Jaylen McCollough is one of Tennessee football’s top playmakers on defense.

Both Jaylen McCollough and Warren Burrell are three-year starters returning in the secondary who haven’t even redshirted yet. Choosing between them was difficult. Burrell actually had a much higher PFF regular season grade at cornerback last year, coming away with two tackles for a loss and five pass deflections. He’ll be a regular again this year.

However, Burrell was guarding the less talented receiver for the year, and when he took the No. 1 cornerback spot due to Alontae Taylor opting out of the Music City Bowl against the Purdue Boilermakers, he struggled severely. That resulted in McCollough getting the advantage here.

Last year, McCollough led the team in interceptions with three. He also had five pass deflections, a forced fumble, three and a half tackles for a loss, a sack and 49 total tackles, 35 of which were solo. Tennessee football’s issues with quarterback containment were everywhere, and they brought down McCollough’s PFF grade. He should still be fine.

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