Good news: Tennessee Volunteers star player is back..

Who will play football for Tennessee in 2024 and who might not?

With a commanding victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday, Tennessee completed their regular season. And now things start to get crazy. In addition to the early signing period and coaching carousel, the crucial transfer portal window will open.

This implies that you must have a rough notion of your scholarship amounts, and things get trickier as we continue to work out the NCAA’s COVID-year rule. It’s not as simple as choosing an NFL team right now. You have three options: go pro, hit the portal, or come back for a free year as a senior. In order for coaches to prepare their rosters for the upcoming season, all of that needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

Josh Heupel described the upcoming weeks as having “huge implications on what you’re gonna be as you move forward as a program.” “So, sure, a lot is happening all at once. Everything: high school, portal, your players. And you have to handle everything. You must have an excellent team that makes sound decisions, communicates at a high level, and does the right things.

Who attends Senior Day activities or not can give you a clue as to where things stand, even though it doesn’t always mean everything. That refers to whether or not someone runs through the T for the last time in Tennessee.

If a senior doesn’t, that’s a pretty good sign that they may be considering going back.

Our opinion: Tennessee’s offensive line, which is expected to undergo significant modifications this offseason, would greatly benefit from having Mays and Spraggins back up front. It would also be nice to have Davis and Lampley back as depth.

Keenan Pili never really got going this year, so having him back would be extremely beneficial with Aaron Beasley’s departure. Pili’s seasoned presence would facilitate the transition as Tennessee struggled at linebacker in the latter stages of the game. With multiple players leaving the cornerback room, Slaughter—who was injured for a large portion of the season—would also be a significant pull back.

Our opinion: Once more, nothing solid here. Perhaps this is an indication rather than the conclusion of the story.

Omari Thomas and Tyler Baron will probably investigate their interest in the NFL over the coming weeks.

The most fascinating aspects of this are the supporting cast members. Wesley Walker, Gabe Jeudy-Lally, and Tamarion McDonald all made significant contributions this season and have the potential to anchor a significant secondary transition. Regaining any of those pieces would be extremely beneficial, particularly in light of the official departures of Jaylen McCollough and Kamal Hadden.

Our opinion: Over the next month, there will be a lot of talk about the tight end situation. While Ethan Davis will undoubtedly step up, Heupel and his staff will need a few more players to be ready to play. Tennessee will have about a month off before playing in the bowl game. In that time, a lot of decisions — made by both the staff and individual players — will shape the roster for the 2024 season. You can expect to see some of those decisions being made as early as this week.