Predicting Tennessee's Week 1 Depth Chart, and why the coaches may have it wrong

Defense

DE: Dominic Bailey - Tyre West - Tyree Weathersbee

NT: Omari Thomas - Elijah Simmons - Daevin Hobbs

DT: Omar Norman-Lott - Bryson Eason - Jaxson Moi

EDGE: James Pearce Jr - Joshua Josephs - Caleb Herring

MLB: Keenan Pili - Jeremiah Telander - Edwin Spillman

WLB: Arion Carter - Kalib Perry

STAR: Christian Harrison - Boo Carter

CB1: Jermod McCoy - Jalen McMurray

CB2: Ricky Gibson III, Jordan Matthews

FS: Will Brooks - Jakobe Thomas

SS: Andre Turrentine - Christian Charles

The defense will be pretty fluid this season, and we will likely see guys from the second and even third line rotate in regularly. The defensive front and linebackers look especially scary, but the secondary has some questions.

Christian Harrison over Boo Carter at STAR makes some sense, but Carter is by far the more athletic player. Tim Banks tends to favor veterans over young players and seems to be leaning the same way here. Carter should be the starter from day one because the experience from UT-Chattanooga will be invaluable throughout the season and get him ready to go against NC State and Oklahoma.

Will Brooks starting at safety is another interesting one to watch. He is a former walk-on who knows everything about Banks' defense but lacks an athletic ceiling. It's hard to say that he doesn't deserve to start, but it's easy to wonder if getting someone with more upside in there would be better for the season long-term.