Where the Tennessee Vols fall in spring SEC Power Rankings

Are the Tennessee Vols one of the top five teams in the SEC right now? On3.com's Jesse Simonton thinks that's the case. Simonton, who covers the SEC nationally for On3.com, has the Vols as the No. 5 team in the SEC in his spring power rankings. Tennessee comes in behind Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, and […]

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Are the Tennessee Vols one of the top five teams in the SEC right now?

On3.com's Jesse Simonton thinks that's the case.

Simonton, who covers the SEC nationally for On3.com, has the Vols as the No. 5 team in the SEC in his spring power rankings.

Tennessee comes in behind Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Arkansas.

Here's what Simonton had to say about the Volunteers in 2022:

Could this actually be the year the Return of Rocky Top is real? Josh Heupel has a perfect trigger man for his offense in quarterback Hendon Hooker, and the Vols could legitimately make their case as the second-best team in the SEC East this fall. That is, if the Vols can figure out their defense. Tennessee is going to score points in bunches, but unless it finds a way to stop someone (UT allowed nearly 30 points per game last season, better than only Missouri and Vandy), it won’t matter. While Tennessee’s secondary is super thin this spring, DC Tim Banks still needs to find an answer or two heading into the fall.

When I first saw these rankings, I thought Tennessee's ranking was a bit ambitious.

But after looking it over, I don't think Simonton is far off.

Several of the teams below the Vols have major question marks entering the 2022 season.

  • Kentucky — New offensive coordinator
  • LSU — New head coach in Brian Kelly who is a strange fit in Baton Rouge
  • Ole Miss — New quarterback with Matt Corral off to the NFL
  • Florida — New head coach in Billy Napier, who will be leading a Power-5 program for the first time
  • Auburn — Is Bryan Harsin "all-in" as the Tigers head coach?

Tennessee, for once, is one of the more stable teams in the SEC. We'll see if the preseason hype for the Vols turns out to be warranted. But for now, I think this is a fair ranking for Tennessee.

Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

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