Highly rated linebacker expected to play on offensive side of the ball for Tennessee Vols
The Tennessee Vols landed a stud linebacker on Wednesday, but he probably won't be a linebacker on Rocky Top. That's not a typo. Four-star athlete Len'Neth Whitehead, 6-foot-1/230 lbs from Athens, GA, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 10 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 7 inside linebacker in the nation. […]
The Tennessee Vols landed a stud linebacker on Wednesday, but he probably won't be a linebacker on Rocky Top.
That's not a typo.
Four-star athlete Len'Neth Whitehead, 6-foot-1/230 lbs from Athens, GA, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 10 player in the state of Georgia and the No. 7 inside linebacker in the nation.
Whitehead, however, is expected to play running back at Tennessee.
The dynamic athlete, who was recruited to UT by inside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer and running backs coach David Johnson, told VolQuest after he signed on Wednesday that he originally wanted to play linebacker at the next level.
However, Whitehead eventually decided that playing running back would be in his best interest. He told VolQuest "I trust myself and the coaching to get me there. I think I have the talent to do something big at running back."
Tennessee didn't balk at Whitehead's desired position change. Whitehead said that Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt has been a straight shooter with him during the entire recruiting process.
Things could certainly change once Whitehead hits the practice field at UT (we've seen plenty of positions changes for the Vols in recent years), but for now it appears the plan is for the Georgia native to stick at running back.
At 230 lbs, there's no doubt that Whitehead can be a bruising running back in the SEC. He'll be a great complement in the future to current Vols running back Eric Gray and fellow 2020 signee Jabari Small.
The Vols' depth got better at a lot of positions on the first day of the early signing period. But the depth at running back looks especially nice after the addition of Lan'Neth Whitehead.
Featured image via 247Sports
