The college football season is less than six weeks away with SEC Media Days and the start of fall practices looming. Tennessee enters the 2026 season with major questions at perhaps the two most important positions on the field— quarterback and pass rusher.
Those important questions have led to general pessimism around Josh Heupel’s fourth team in Knoxville. But there’s a number of positions where Tennessee is ripe with talent and could be near the top of the SEC. RTI’s Ryan Sylvia ranked the three best position groups on Tennessee’s roster from his perspective earlier this month. Today, I give my list and offer my perspective.
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3. Cornerback
Auburn transfer corner Kayin Lee is as underrated an addition to Tennessee’s roster as there was this offseason. Lee started 24 games over the last two seasons at Auburn and was highly coveted in the portal. Last season, Lee allowed just 21 catches for 251 yards and no touchdowns while intercepting two passes.
Ty Redmond was battled tested as a true freshman a season ago and will start on the opposite side of the ball as Lee as a sophomore. Redmond got better and better as the 2025 season developed and could be a breakout star in 2026.
Depth is the concern at corner but versatile Florida transfer defensive back Jadais Richard gives Tennessee some stability. The development of sophomore Tre Poteat will also be important.
2. Inside Linebacker
Tennessee is ripe with young talent at inside linebacker. Edwin Spillman played at a high level in the back half of his redshirt freshman season and Jadon Perlotte flashed serious speed and talent at times in his true freshman season.
The Vols added veteran depth when they landed transfer Amare Campbell following a 103-tackle season at Penn State. Then Arion Carter changed course and decided to return to Tennessee after initially declaring for the NFL Draft.
Between Carter, Campbell, Spillman, Perlotte, Jeremiah Telander and blue-chip freshmen T.J. White and Brayden Rouse, the inside linebacker position is Tennessee’s deepest. The question is just how good can any one player be? Can Carter perform like an All-SEC linebacker if he stays healthy? Can Spillman break out into one of the conference’s best linebackers?
Those questions will decide just how good Tennessee will be at linebacker, but the floor is extremely high.
1. Receiver
Tennessee is the only team in the SEC to return two receivers that totaled over 800 yards last season. Braylon Staley caught 68 passes for 837 yards and six touchdowns a season ago while Mike Matthews caught 53 passes for 813 yards and four touchdowns.
Staley and Matthews give Tennessee two potential stars. Underclassmen Radarious Jackson, Travis Smith Jr. and TK Keys will compete for the third starting spot and will provide impressive depth.
The Vols do have to replace Chris Brazzell, who drew an abundance of attention from opposing defenses, and that will not be an easy task. But with Staley and Matthews entering their junior seasons, they should be able to become big-play targets and help an underclassmen quarterback adjust to life as a SEC starter.
