The Tennessee Vols will return to the football field on Tuesday as the program kicks off Josh Heupel's second spring practice in Knoxville.

I think it goes without saying that the biggest story of the spring for the Vols will be the defense.

Specifically, the secondary.

Tennessee is extremely thin in the secondary (Alontae Taylor and Theo Jackson are gone after being key players for the Vols last season).

UT basically has a wide-open competition at cornerback. And unfortunately for the Vols, they have several cornerbacks who won't take part in that competition this spring due to injury.

Brandon Turnage, Kamal Hadden, and De’Shawn Rucker are all expected to be out this spring. Warren Burrell, who played in 12 games for the Vols in 2021, could also be out this spring.

With depth being an issue, I think there's a position switch that Tennessee should seriously explore this season that could end up making the Vols' defense a lot better in 2022.

Heupel and defensive coordinator Tim Banks should consider moving wide receiver Jimmy Holiday to cornerback.

Holiday is a former three-star recruit who signed with Tennessee during the 2020 recruiting cycle. The Mississippi native originally signed with the Vols as a quarterback, though it didn't take long for him to move to wide receiver.

Last season, Holiday caught one pass for five yards. He's primarily been a special teams player for the Vols during his first two seasons on Rocky Top.

The Tennessee Vols can't waste elite speed

Holiday's 40 yard dash time during the recruiting process was recorded at 4.38 seconds.

That's elite speed. And Tennessee needs to find a way to get that elite speed on the field.

Trying Holiday at cornerback this spring would be perfect. It would allow the talented athlete to get on the field more often and possibly give the Vols some much-needed depth (if the position switch worked out).

It worked for Alontae Taylor. He originally signed with Tennessee as a wide receiver and after playing cornerback for the Vols, he's likely going to be selected in the 2022 NFL Draft as a safety.

Right now, Holiday isn't a future NFL player. But if he switches to cornerback and sticks there, he could change the entire outlook of his career. And he could make Tennessee a lot better at the same time.

It's a win-win for everyone.

Featured image via Tennessee Athletic Communications