Seven Tennessee football players land on the Athlon Sports preseason All-SEC list this spring.
Among those seven players include four offensive players, two defensive players, and one specialist:
All-SEC First Team
N/A
All-SEC Second Team
Offense: WR Bru McCoy
All-SEC Third Team
Defense: LB Aaron Beasley
Specialists: PR Dee Williams
All-SEC Fourth Team
Offense: RB Jaylen Wright
Offense: WR Squirrel White
Offense: C Cooper Mays
Defense: Tyler Baron
7⃣ #Vols earning @AthlonSports preseason All-SEC honors.#GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/oc9qyIJK1z
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) June 20, 2023
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Tennessee’s seven selections entering the 2023 season are three fewer than the 10 that the Vols boasted prior to the 2022 season. That group included Cedric Tillman, Byron Young, Hendon Hooker, Jeremy Banks, Jerome Carvin, Tyler Baron, Paxton Brooks, Jabari Small, Darnell Wright, and Trevon Flowers.
Bru McCoy
Bru McCoy will take over the No. 1 wide receiver position on Tennessee’s roster following the departures of Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt this offseason. McCoy, a former five-star recruit and USC transfer, had a fresh start in Knoxville last season during his first year with the Vols. McCoy was an effective big-bodied receiver on the outside for the Vols, finishing the season with 667 yards and four touchdowns on 52 receptions.
McCoy first broke the mold against Florida during Week 4 last season as he snagged five receptions for 102 yards and a 70-yard touchdown. One week later, against LSU in Death Valley, McCoy recorded a season-high 140 yards on seven receptions to propel the Vols to a dominant victory. McCoy also helped set up the game-winning field goal to defeat Alabama with just seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter.
Aaron Beasley
Aaron Beasley returns to Tennessee as the leader of the middle of the defense after capping off his 2022 season with a magnificent performance in the Orange Bowl. Beasley led Tennessee with 12 total tackles and 10 solo tackles, also adding in two sacks on freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik.
At 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, Beasley is an athletic linebacker that can not only cover ground in the middle of the field but also effectively get after the quarterback. Putting pressure on the quarterback is something that defensive coordinator Tim Banks loves to do with the Tennessee defense, and Beasley showed in the bowl game how much he has grown in that specific category.
Guess who……… pic.twitter.com/iWAn7F03v5
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) December 31, 2022
Dee Williams
Dee Williams is an electric punt returner in Tennessee’s backfield. Out of the 20 total punt returns that Tennessee received last season, Williams accounted for 15 of them. The Georgia native had 281 total yards for an average of 18.73 yards per attempt. While he got close a few times throughout the season, Williams’ one touchdown return during the season was an big one. Williams dipped and dove through the Vanderbilt coverage team in the rain en route to the endzone.
Admittingly, I was one of the people that got fooled by his endzone celebration, which made it even better in hindsight.
No chance your catching @Des_williams4 in space 💨
📺: @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/T7eNs7LbqM
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) November 27, 2022
Jaylen Wright
Tennessee’s three-headed backfield featuring Jabari Small, Jaylen Wright, and Dylan Sampson returns to the offensive unit this season. Small brings a hefty amount of power to Tennessee’s running back room while Sampson has seemingly endless speed and agility out of the backfield. Wright, though, is the Vols’ Swiss army knife.
Wright is a talented back that has both the speed and the finesse side as well as the power running side. Wright led all Tennessee rushers this season with 875 yards on 146 attempts, also adding in 10 touchdowns on the year. While Joe Milton is no rookie, switching up the quarterbacks will put more of an emphasis on an already highly prioritized running game from Josh Heupel’s offense. Wright will surely be one of the most important pieces on the Vols’ unit this year alongside Small and Sampson.
Squirrel White
Squirrel White is going to be one of the most-anticipated Vols to take the field in 2023 after an impressive freshman season in Knoxville. The 5-foot-10 receiver proved that he had more than enough speed to play in the SEC as he took the top off of the defense on a few occasions throughout the year. White had game-long catches of 64 yards, 58 yards, 64 yards, and 50 yards throughout the season.
With Tillman and Hyatt not playing in the Orange Bowl, White took advantage of his time with the starting unit. White led all Tennessee receivers in the Orange Bowl with 108 yards on nine receptions while also grabbing a touchdown in the endzone. White will assuredly be one of Tennessee’s top X-Factors this season as he has a good relationship with Milton.
🐿️ finding the checkerboards
📺 @ESPN pic.twitter.com/CgRhbbJ6QM
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) December 31, 2022
Cooper Mays
Cooper Mays, a local standout with Tennessee family ties, is gearing up for his fourth season on Rocky Top after starting every game at center for the Vols’ impressive offensive line during the 2022 season. Mays logged 825 snaps during his junior season after totaling just 609 snaps in his first two seasons on campus. The brother of former Tennessee star Cade Mays has worked hard to be one of the leaders on the Tennessee team and is now one of the top centers in the Southeastern Conference.
Mays was named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week after a record-setting offensive effort by the Volunteers against Missouri. That effort, though, was set up by Mays and the linemen up front. Mays not did allow a pressure up the middle on 75 offensive snaps to give him the award for the week. While Tennessee does shuffle a few pieces on the line in 2023, having Mays back in the middle is a huge advantage for offensive line coach Glen Elarbee.
Tyler Baron
Tyler Baron, another product of Knoxville, will also return to Tennessee for his senior season in 2023. Baron was fourth on Tennessee’s defense in tackles for loss last season and fourth in total sacks. With Byron Young being drafted to the NFL, the door is open for Baron to burst through and become an elite pass rusher for Tennessee. The tools are there with a 6-foot-5 frame and a tough motor. If Baron can put it all together this year for Tennessee, his potential will be a high ceiling.
Baron’s best performance came in either the Missouri game or the Orange Bowl last season for the Vols. The Knoxville native recorded four tackles (all solo) and one sack against the Missouri Tigers while recording four tackles (three solo) against the Clemson Tigers.
Home on Rocky Top: Tyler Baron
🎥 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙅𝙤𝙨𝙝 𝙃𝙚𝙪𝙥𝙚𝙡 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙬 pic.twitter.com/AwpmtHfoTt
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 29, 2021
