According to CBS Sports, the Tennessee Vols have one of the best position groups in college football entering the 2026 season.

And it’s not a position group the Vols have been known for over the last decade-plus.

CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer recently built “a college football all-star team by picking the best position groups in the country” (with the caveat being that he could only pick one position group per school).

Hummer went with Tennessee for his all-star team’s linebacker group.

“The Volunteers have the deepest linebacker unit in the country,” wrote Hummer. “For example, Edwin Spillman (81) and Jeremiah Telander (80) led Tennessee in tackles last year and are back in 2026. Yet there’s a real chance neither starts due to the presence of Arion Carter — an expected draft pick who returned to school because of injury — and Penn State transfer Amare Campbell, a four-star addition out of the portal who’s totaled 179 tackles, 20 TFLs and 9.5 sacks over the past two seasons.

“That’s a loaded quartet for a defense that’s expected to run a 4-2-5 the majority of the time. And I haven’t even mentioned the presence of sophomores Jaedon Harmon (19 tackles) and Jadon Perlotte (19 tackles), both of whom were high-level contributors as four-star true freshmen a season ago.”

Tennessee’s linebacker room is loaded with talent — to the point where senior Jeremiah Telander, who played a lot of snaps last season, could have trouble seeing the field this fall.

The Volunteers haven’t been known for developing linebackers in recent years

Linebacker is a position group where the Vols have struggled to produce talent over the last 15 years.

There isn’t a single former Tennessee linebacker currently in the NFL (unless Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who is primarily a special teams player, returns for another season, or unless you count Henry To’o To’o, who finished his career at Alabama).

The Volunteers, in fact, haven’t had a linebacker drafted since Reeves-Maybin in 2017. And he was the first Vol linebacker drafted since Jerod Mayo in 2008.

It’s tough to win championships without elite linebacker play. Tennessee, though, could have the best linebacker group in the sport this fall, and that alone could lead to the Vols’ defense taking a massive jump in 2026.

From being better at covering tight ends in the passing game to being able to better handle scrambling quarterbacks, the Vols’ improved talent at linebacker could be a bigger difference-maker than anyone realizes in 2026.