Checking out the comp: Tennessee
Missouri finished spring football a little over a week ago and is moving onto the next portion of its offseason, and until the transfer portal opens May 1-15 things may enter a bit of a quiet period around the program. So, while we give the Tigers a break for a little while there's nothing stopping us from checking out what their 2023 Power 5 opponents' rosters are looking like.
We've already covered Mizzou's first four Power 5 opponents in Kansas State, Vanderbilt, LSU, Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia.
The Volunteers' spring game is on Saturday (April 15), so they'll transition into the next part of their offseason with the hopes of keeping the momentum from their first 10-win season since 2007 under Phillip Fulmer.
Last season's record: 11-2
Key departures: (NFL Draft) QB Hendon Hooker, WR Jalin Hyatt, WR Cedric Tillman, RT Darnell Wright, EDGE Byron Young, LB Jeremy Banks
(Transfer portal) RB Justin Willams-Thomas, QB Tayven Jackson, LB Juwan Mitchell
Key additions: WR Dont'e Thornton, OL John Campbell, OL Andrej Karic, CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally, DE Omarr Norman-Lott, LB Keenan Pili, TE McCallan Castles, K Charles Campbell
Key departures
A wonderful season for Tennessee ended with a 17-point win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl, but the Vols have had to pick up the pieces from a roster that lost a lot of talent via the NFL Draft and the transfer portal.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker was eyeing the Heisman before an ACL injury would end his season early, but Hooker could be a day-two pick after completing 69.6% of his passes for 3,195 yards, 27 touchdowns and a pair of interceptions in 2022.
He also was third on the team in rushing with 430 yards and five touchdowns on 104 carries (4.1 yards per carry).
All of that was on display when Tennessee handed Mizzou one of its worst losses in school history with a 66-24 drubbing.
He completed 25 of 35 passes for 355 yards and five touchdowns through the air but also tacked on eight carries for 50 yards and a rushing touchdown.
The most talked about draft prospect coming out of Knoxville may be wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, who famously had a career day versus Alabama in week six with six receptions 207 yards and five touchdowns.
The Biletnikoff Award winner recorded 67 receptions for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns in 12 games last season.
Seven of those receptions, 146 yards and a touchdown came versus Missouri.
The speedster has been projected to be a second-round pick but can very well sneak into the first round.
Joining Hyatt is fellow wide receiver Cedric Tillman who was limited to six games a season ago due to an ankle injury.
In those games, Tillman recorded 37 receptions for 417 yards and three touchdowns in 2022.
He's likely to be a day-two pick for a team needing a big physical possession receiver.
Right tackle Darnell Wright may not get the same fanfare that his teammates get, but he's been widely mocked as someone a team could draft at the bottom of the first round.
The 6-foot-5, 333-pounder started all 13 games last season and had a pass-blocking grade of 80.2 and a run-blocking grade of 65.0, according to PFF College.
EDGE Byron Young had a team-high seven sacks to go along with 37 tackles and 12 tackles for loss in 13 games in 2022.
Like Hooker, Hyatt and Tillman, Young is likely a mid-round pick.
Middle linebacker Jeremy Banks was the team's fifth-leading tackler with 53 to go along with 4.5 tackles for loss, four pass deflections, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery 13 games (eight starts) a season ago.
He's projected to be an undrafted free agent, but he's still a quality starter the Vols will be without in 2023.
Justin Williams-Thomas transferred to California after recording 11 carries for 37 yards rushing in three games last season.
The running back didn't get much of a chance to produce for the Vols, but he was a four-star recruit in the class of 2022 and was the nation's No. 11 halfback.
He was ranked as the No. 92 overall available transfer.
Like Williams-Thomas, quarterback Tayven Jackson's transfer to Indiana is more so based on his potential.
He was the No. 100 overall prospect in the class of 2022 and he only appeared in three games last season.
He was ranked as the No. 122 available transfer.
Linebacker Juwan Mitchell played 10 games last season and racked up 43 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, a pair of pass deflections and an interception a season ago.
Despite being the No. 250 available transfer he's yet to find a new school to play for.
Key additions
Wide receiver Dont'e Thornton transferred from Oregon after racking up 17 receptions for 366 yards and a touchdown.
The 6-foot-5 receiver was ranked as a four-star transfer and the No. 15 overall transfer available.
John Campbell transferred from Miami (FL) after manning left tackle in 12 games last season.
He is expected to be a help in pass protection considering his pass-blocking grade of 73.5, but he struggled in run-blocking and finished with a grade of 52.6.
He was also ranked as a four-star transfer and the No. 67 overall available ranked transfer.
Joining Campbell is another left tackle 一 Andrej Karic formerly of the Texas Longhorns.
Karic, who was ranked as the No. 87 overall available transfer, played in 12 games last season (two starts) and had a pass-blocking grade of 58.3 and a run-blocking grade of 57.2.
Cornerback Gabe Jeudy-Lally returns to the SEC after initially playing the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Vanderbilt before he spent last season at BYU.
He played in 13 games (10 starts) for the Cougars and had 47 tackles, 0.5 sacks and seven pass breakups. He was ranked as the No. 160 overall available transfer.
Defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott transferred to Tennessee after a couple of seasons at Arizona State.
Last season, he recorded 14 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and a couple of bat downs in nine games.
Norman-Lott was ranked as the No. 267 overall ranked transfer available.
Jeudy-Lally didn't leave Provo, Utah by himself.
He brought along linebacker Keenan Pili, who racked up 62 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack, a pass deflection, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 12 games a year ago.
The 6-foot-3, 233-pounder was the 352nd-best available transfer.
Tight end McCallan Castles transferred from UC Davis after recording 30 receptions for 347 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games a season ago.
Tennessee lost starting tight end Princeton Fant, so Castles will compete with Jacob Warren for the starting spot.
However, Castles is the better receiver between him Warren and so expect him to be used as such.
Castles was ranked as the 414th-best available transfer.
The Vols were able to get Jackson, Tennessee native Charles Campbell to transfer from Indiana. A welcomed addition for Tennessee after losing starter Chase McGrath.
Campbell was 14 of 20 on field goals and made all 27 of his extra points last season. He's just a few seasons removed from an All-Big 10 second-team selection in 2020.
He was ranked as the No. 1,051 overall available transfer.
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