ESPN points out the biggest question surrounding the Tennessee Vols in 2024
The Tennessee Vols have a chance to make some serious noise in 2024 thanks in large part to the presence of quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the former No. 1 overall player in the nation. Iamaleava is expected to take Tennessee's offense to the next level. His athleticism, field awareness, decision-making, and arm are all considered elite […]
The Tennessee Vols have a chance to make some serious noise in 2024 thanks in large part to the presence of quarterback Nico Iamaleava, the former No. 1 overall player in the nation.
Iamaleava is expected to take Tennessee's offense to the next level. His athleticism, field awareness, decision-making, and arm are all considered elite tools.
For the Vols to win a championship, however, they'll need their defense to also take things to the "next level" — specifically when it comes to the secondary.
Tennessee has struggled at times against the pass in recent seasons. But with the Vols set to deploy what's essentially a new-look secondary in 2024, there's potential for rapid improvement.
That new-look secondary is what ESPN believes is the biggest question facing the Vols entering the 2024 season.
From ESPN: The NCAA poking around Tennessee's program and its recruitment of quarterback Nico Iamaleava and then Tennessee's fiery legal response to that probe has dominated offseason headlines. Tennessee fans can't wait to see Iamaleava as QB1 for the Vols. He has tons of talent, but one of the things to watch this spring will be how Tennessee retools its defensive backfield. The starters from 2023 are all gone, and there was also an exodus in the portal. But the Vols like some of their younger players in the secondary and also did their own mining in the portal, including Oregon State cornerback Jermod McCoy. We get our first chance this spring to see Tennessee's new-look defensive backfield.
The narrative surrounding Tennessee's secondary will be the amount of players the team lost to the transfer portal. But while the players that left were quality players who played some important snaps for the Vols the last couple of seasons, their departures are opening up playing time for some of Tennessee's younger players that have high ceilings.
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