Once spring football practice begins at Tennessee, all eyes will be on the Volunteers quarterback position.
And those eyes will be misplaced.
Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre is the odds-on favorite to head into preseason practice as Tennessee’s QB1, but I’m not convinced. I still think, by April, coach Josh Heupel will be scouring rosters looking for fifth-year quarterbacks, who have already graduated, who might not be thrilled with their current circumstances.
Or, who isn’t somewhere where he can make a quick big buck.
Grad transfers can happen at any time. There’s no need for a portal.
Of course, last year’s quarterback Joey Aguilar still has a remote chance of being cleared for another year by the NCAA.
You see, I’m apprehensive about MacIntyre’s ability to physically survive in the Southeastern Conference. I don’t doubt his talent or his ability to understand Heupel’s offense.
I saw the beating that Joey Aguilar took last season and the 24-year-old clocked in at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds. That size and age gave him some “man” strength.
In just his second year of college, MacIntyre’s 6-foot-6 frame is struggling to fill out. He was 182 pounds when he came to Tennessee and 195 now. Somehow, he missed the “Freshman 15,” that settles on kids just out of high school. Reportedly, MacIntyre has allergies and diet restrictions that make it hard for him to bulk up.
But, then again, it may all be moot, cuz the guy taking snaps in April, might be on the bench in September.
The real area worth watching is going to be at linebacker.
It was the defense that carried Tennessee to the College Football Playoff two years ago and it was the defense that let a couple games that should have been wins trickle away.
The anchor of that defense, under new coordinator Jim Knowles, is the linebacker. Tennessee’s situation at linebacker is a very good one. The Vols snagged Amare Campbell out of the portal. Campbell studied under Knowles’ system last year at Penn State.
Then, on the plus side, Arion Carter pulled his name out of the NFL Draft after the season, then out of the portal when he thought leaving Tennessee was the only option he had.
According to reports, Carter got a “second day” grade from the NFL, which means he wouldn’t be a first-round selection. That convinced him to come back to college. By then, he knew Tennessee had already landed Campbell. He thought there was no room for him.
It took Heupel to go talk to him and his parents to sway Carter into knowing he was welcome with open arms.
Now, all Knowles has to figure out is how to get Campbell and Carter on the field at the same time. Once he can get those two talents working in harmony, the rest of the defense will have an opportunity to fall into place.
There have been suggestions that Knowles’ defense takes a year to understand. Having several key players — Campbell, Chaz Coleman (Edge), Dejuan Lane (CB) and Xavier Gilliam (DT) — from Penn State now with the Vols may be able to hurry the process along.
Given those circumstances, the development of the defense could be a much more interesting show than the quarterback competition.
But, then again, the quarterbacks get all the glory.