Linebackers To Watch For Tennessee Vols

The Tennessee Volunteers have several talented linebackers to fill the void of their leading tackler from a season ago.

Edwin Spillman hugs Jamie Graham, head coach of Lipscomb s football team, after committing to / Stephanie Amador / The Tennessean / USA

The Tennessee Volunteers have several talented linebackers to fill the void of their leading tackler from a season ago.

The Tennessee Volunteers had a surprise entry regarding the transfer portal. The player to enter the portal for the Volunteers was Elijah Herring. The very talented linebacker left a short but impressive impact on the defense last season, stepping up in a big role in the absence of Keenan Pili. Although this was a big hit to the position group, there are many guys who you can expect to play a big role in this defensive core moving forward.

Arion Carter

Carter was excellent before getting hurt late in the season last season. He was a true freshman for the Vols but played like a true junior! The talented linebacker is excellent in run-stuff defense. He could use some improvements in the passing game but Tennessee hasn’t had many ball-hawking linebackers as of recent as the primary linebackers recently (Jeremy Banks, Aaron Beasley, etc) were significant contributors to the run-stuffing category. He is not shy to fill a gap and that’s exactly what Tennessee needs.

Keenan Pili

Pili had tons of hype and expectations entering the season last season as he was a transfer out of BYU. He was a linebacker captain for the Cougars before making the move to Tennessee. His season was cut short after the first game of the season which gave him the eligibility for this season. Many are hopeful he can live up to his full expectations this year with a healthy campaign.

Edwin Spillman

Spillman is an incoming true freshman who prides himself on removing an offensive player's head. The hard-hitting freshman was the stand-out player in the spring game as he had six tackles and five were solo tackles for the freshman. Spillman will see playing time; it’s just a matter of how much. I expect him to do great things for Tennessee.

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