The Tennessee Vols will enter the 2023 season with a rotation at a couple of offensive line positions. 

For now, only three positions are settled — Miami transfer John Campbell will play left tackle, Javontez Spraggins will continue to hold down the right guard position, and Cooper Mays is the Vols' starting center (and probably their most important offensive lineman). 

The battles at left guard and right tackle are ongoing. 

Complicating matters is the fact that Mays has been out recently after undergoing a medical procedure. He could be back for the season-opener on September 2 against Virginia, but it's unclear if that will be the case. 

In Mays' absence, Ollie Lane, who is also an option for the Vols at left guard, has reportedly been taking the first team snaps at center. 

With Lane working at center, it's opened the door for some other players to get more reps at left guard. 

One of those players is Texas transfer Andrej Karic, a former four-star recruit from Southlake, TX. 

When the Vols landed Karic as a transfer earlier this offseason, the assumption from many, including myself, was that the former Texas offensive lineman would be an instant plug-n-play option along Tennessee's offensive line. 

That turned out to be a bit presumptuous as it wasn't quite fair to assume that Karic would pick up Josh Heupel's up-tempo offensive overnight. It takes time and there are no shortcuts. 

But just because Karic hasn't taken a stronghold on a starting job doesn't mean he won't or that he's not capable. 

Mays, in fact, gave Karic quite the endorsement this week during an exclusive interview with Off the Hook Sports. 

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"Really, really impressed with Andrej," said Mays. "I've been impressed with him from the jump. He's one of those guys that he kind of reminds me of me a little bit. That sounds a little bit weird I guess. He knows how to translate power with his hips. He's a little bit of a smaller guy like me, you know, not just gargantuan in size. So he's got to play with the right leverage and the right explosiveness and twitch. Being fast, you know, athletic. So I think he's a guy that that knows his role. I think he plays football the right way. Plays hard and plays violent and I can always work with a guy like that. I truly enjoy watching people that know how to play football violently. It's not extremely common anymore as it was back in the day. But he's a guy that possess that and I really enjoy it."

Karic has two years of eligibility remaining (including this season) so he has plenty of time to make an impact for the Vols. He certainly isn't a player that folks should write off because he didn't come in and immediately claim a starting job. It takes some time to learn Heupel's system and to operate at a high level while playing in it. 

It sounds like Karic has the mindset that Tennessee is looking for. And he could still end up being a key offensive lineman for the Volunteers this fall. 

Virginia HC Tony Elliott showed the Vols’ current team a lot of respect

Virginia head coach Tony Elliott showed the Tennessee Vols’ current team a lot of respect

Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK