Although Tennessee Football returns a ton of talent from 2023 and upgrades at lots of places they lost guys, the Vols will still miss some of the players who left. They won’t reach their goals in Josh Heupel’s fourth year unless they address those. Here are the five players UT will have the toughest time replacing from last season.
5. Gabe Jeudy-Lally
Most of the secondary departures were no big deal, but Gabe Jeudy-Lally was a reliable utility player in the secondary last year after transferring from the BYU Cougars. Although the Vols brought in Jalen McMurray and Jakobe Thomas, it’s not just the easiest thing in the world to replace somebody like Jeudy-Lally, so they could have issues there.
4. Jaylen McCollough
Another one of the not-so-awful players in the secondary, Jaylen McCollough was a solid safety who spent five years with the program. Tennessee Football has excitement in Boo Carter, but he’s a true freshman, and Jourdan Thomas is out for the season. Lack of a sure bet behind McCollough puts him on here, which is why Aaron Beasley isn’t on here at linebacker, as he’s got Arion Carter backing him up.
3. Jabari Small
Nobody made a bigger mistake leaving early than Jabari Small. He was relegated to more of a backup role last year at running back, but this year, the Vols don’t have a feature back, so his experience would have allowed him to start immediately. Now, if Peyton Lewis doesn’t work out, the Vols don’t have a good option for their feature running back, and that could stall Heupel’s offense.
2. Jacob Warren
Ramel Keyton would be a loss if UT didn’t have a ton of talent at receiver coming back, and McCallan Castles as the receiving tight end would be a loss if Ethan Davis weren’t backing him up. Blocking is the question. Jacob Warren was an experienced blocking tight end who understood the schemes, and Tennessee Football can’t just replace that.
1. Jaylen Wright
The main reason Jabari Small should have returned is Jaylen Wright left. Wright is not just a capable feature back. He’s a potential superstar in the NFL. Tennessee Football will seriously miss him. Blocking for the running backs won’t be an issue with the addition of Lance Heard, which is why Jeremiah Crawford didn’t make the list, but not having a talented back like Wright could.
