Tennessee football is preparing for a critical fall camp ahead of the 2026 season. Heading into year six under Josh Heupel, he’s stockpiled talent across the field, leading to some very strong position groups.
Here’s a look at the three strongest and deepest position groups on the roster, which will be imperative to the success of the Vols this season.
Linebackers
There’s no deeper room on the roster than Tennessee’s linebacker corps. Starting at the top, you could easily argue that the Vols have three players capable of earning All-SEC nods. Returners Arion Carter and Edwin Spillman and Penn State transfer Amare Campbell are all capable of being stars. However, unless UT shakes up its base formation, only two can earn starting nods.
William Inge likes to rotate his backers, though. That means not just that trio, but even further down the list will get run. The next guys up are likely sophomore Jadon Perlotte, coming off a breakout freshman campaign, and veteran Jeremiah Telander. Other returns include the likes of Jaedon Harmon and Jordan Burns.
Tennessee brings in two highly recruited freshmen, as well. Both Brayden Rouse and TJ White are college-ready athletes who ranked as top-five linebackers in the class.
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Interior Offensive Linemen
The interior of Tennessee’s offensive line is poised to be a really strong group. There are two sure-fire starters on the line, with other starting-caliber options jockeying for playtime.
At center, Sam Pendleton will reprise his position after starting all season a year ago. His backup is Nic Moore, who has been steadily improving since arriving on campus a year ago.
At guard, Wendell Moe Jr. will take one of the spots. He was fantastic for the Vols a year ago, and seems to be on track for an All-SEC caliber season. The question is who will be at the guard spot opposite of him, with Moe capable of playing both sides. The competition will likely be between Jesse Perry and Sham Umarov, who both had strong seasons in starting roles last year. Perry is capable of playing both right guard and right tackle, while Umarov slots in at left guard.
Other notable names in the room include West Virginia transfer Donovan Haslam, Gage Ginther, Antoni Ogumoro and freshman Edward Baker.
Wide Receivers
Tennessee returns two elite options at wide receiver. In the slot, Braylon Staley comes back after winning SEC Freshman of the Year last season. On the outside, Mike Matthews, a former five-star recruit, returns to reprise one of his starting roles.
The undecided piece is who will be the other outside option. The competition will be between sophomores Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith Jr. and five-star freshman TK Keys. Each will likely get shots to prove themselves, with all capable of having really strong seasons.
The rooms are deeper than just that top list, as well. In the slot behind Staley, Joakim Dodson, Tyreek King and Ian Duarte are notable names. On the outside, there are a number of depth pieces with experience within the system, such as Carson Whitehead, Jack-Henry Jakobik and Nathan Roberts.
