[tps_header][/tps_header]
3. Kendal Vickers
There’s always a spring wonder or two that emerges seemingly out of nowhere. Kendal Vickers fits that mold this year. Somewhat of an afterthought after he came in Butch Jones’ first recruiting class late in the process, Vickers has grown from a mid-tier defensive end prospect to an athletic and freakishly-strong defensive tackle. His weight is up in the 285-pound neighborhood, and he blew up the weight room with a 710-pound squat over the offseason. He got a ton of reps with all the injuries on the defensive line this spring, getting a lot better in the process.
It’ll be a much different landscape at defensive tackle this fall when everybody gets healthy and all the newcomers are there. But Vickers appears to be carving out at least a spot in the rotation on what looks to be an increasingly deep and dangerous defensive line group.
[tps_footer][/tps_footer]
