Tennessee’s offensive line certainly isn’t complete, but it may be closer than you think to being set for the upcoming fall.
After a week of spring practice, the Vols’ offensive line seems to have a distinct direction with senior John Campbell Jr., moving from left tackle to right tackle, LSU transfer Lance Heard, who is a sophomore, replacing Campbell on the left side, Senior Cooper Mays is, of course, taking first-team snaps at center. Then, at guard, things get interesting.
Currently, the Vols have left guard Andrej Karic and right guard Javontez Spraggins in a limited role as they return to 100-percent health. That has given Dayne Davis and Jackson Lampley more practice snaps at left guard and right guard, respectively. Sham Umarov and Ayden Bussell could be depended on to provide depth, but neither is ready to be a big-time contributor just yet.
In some ways, this is a great scenario for the Vols. Tennessee can ready some of their backup guards, like Davis and Lampley, while the rest of their offensive line continues to mature and become, perhaps, a dominant trio. Most importantly, Heard is healthy and can get used to a new position, left tackle instead of right tackle at LSU, and Campbell can master the footwork of playing on the right side of the offensive line instead of the left.
Is this a perfect scenario for the Vols? No, but Tennessee is probably about as healthy as any other SEC offensive line that is currently going through spring practice. Thanks to increased first-team repetitions during spring camp, the Vols should have better depth at guard, but it will be paramount for Tennessee’s offensive linemen, like Karic and Spraggins, to be 100-percent healthy at the start of fall camp. That will be the time to build chemistry. With injuries hampering some Vols, now is the time to build depth.
