Josh Heupel, Arion Carter, Bryson Eason and Miles Kitselman will all take the podium Tuesday as Tennessee football heads to Atlanta for SEC Media Days. Here are five questions the Vols will have to address given what has transpired with their offseason.
1. Team chemistry after losing Nico Iamaleava
This will be the first time a group of Vols will speak to the media in an official capacity since the day of the spring game, which was the day Nico Iamaleava transferred. How close is the team since that happened? Will that hurt or help team chemistry long-term?
2. Quarterback competition
Iamaleava’s departure for UCLA led to Tennessee football landing Joey Aguilar, who had just transferred from the Bruins, where he transferred to from the Appalachian State Mountaineers this offseason. Aguilar is a fifth-year senior and favored to start, but Jake Merklinger stood out this offseason, and George MacIntyre is a freshman phenom. As a result, will there be a quarterback competition in the fall, or does Aguilar have the job?
3. Turnover on offense
It’s not just quarterback that saw the turnover this offseason on offense. The Vols have to replace nine of 11 starters on that side of the ball, including all three wide receivers, their single season record-setting running back. Who will step in and fill all those voids? Could there actually be upgrades at certain positions given the players they lost?
4. Depth on defensive line
Last year, Tim Banks and Rodney Garner went 12-deep up front. However, the Vols lost elite edge rusher James Pearce Jr. along with interior defensive linemen Omari Thomas, Elijah Simmons and Omarr Norman-Lott. Can the defensive line offset those departures and maintain its depth this year so UT’s defense can stay elite? If so, who will fill those voids?
5. Josh Heupel recruiting
For the first time since he took over Tennessee football, the majority of Josh Heupel’s starters this year will be players he signed out of his school. He has yet to start an offensive lineman he signed out of high school, but he will start at least two such players this year. How confident is he in the recruiting he has done? Will it expose him or take the Vols to new heights?
