The Depth Chart: How No. 20 Tennessee will lineup at Florida

A closer look at No. 20 Tennessee’s unofficial depth chart at Florida on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ABC) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville:

Starter	Joey Aguilar
Backup	Jake Merklinger
Backup	George MacIntyre

Joey Aguilar through 10 games has completed 212 of 320 passes for 2,941 yards, 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has rushed 51 times for 119 yards and three touchdowns. He was 17-for-23 for 204 yards with two total touchdowns and two interceptions in the 42-9 win over New Mexico State.

Redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger has completed 13 of 24 passes for 173 yards in three appearances as the backup quarterback. Freshman George MacIntyre is 7-for-9 for 69 yards in two appearances.

Merklinger appeared in two games last season, completing 6 of 9 passes for 48 yards and running seven times for 22 yards. MacIntyre was a four-star prospect who was a headliner in Tennessee’s 2025 class, ranked as the No. 15 quarterback in the class and the No. 3 in-state prospect, out of Brentwood Academy.

Running Back

DeSean Bishop OR

Peyton Lewis (OUT)

Star Thomas OR

Daune Morris OR

Justin Baker

DeSean Bishop leads Tennessee in yards, carries and touchdowns with 119 attempts for 770 yards and 10 touchdowns. Star Thomas has 458 yards on 85 carries and six touchdowns and Peyton Lewis, who is out against Florida, has 70 rushes for 290 yards and seven touchdowns.

Wide Receivers

Starter	Chris Brazzell II
Backup	Radarious Jackson
Backup	Trey Weary
Starter	Mike Matthews
Backup	Travis Smith Jr.
Backup	Trey Weary
Starter	Braylon Staley
Backup	Amari Jefferson
Backup	Joakim Dodson

Chris Brazzell II has 52 catches for a team-high 873 yards and eight touchdowns and eight touchdowns. Braylon Staley has taken the team lead with 57 catches and has 761 yards and six touchdowns and Mike Matthews has 41 catches for 667 yards and four touchdowns.

Brazzell caught 29 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns last season, ahead of Matthews at seven catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Staley had three catches for 21 yards in four games during a redshirt season.

Tight Ends

Starter	Miles Kitselman (OUT)
Backup	Ethan Davis
Backup	Jack Van Dorselaer
Backup	DaSaahn Brame OR
Backup	Cole Harrison

Miles Kitselman, who is also out against Florida, has 25 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Ethan Davis has nine catches for 100 yards and a touchdown, freshman Dasaahn Brame has five catches for 54 yards and freshman Jack Van Dorselaer has three catches for 10 yards and a touchdown.

Kitselman was one of Tennessee’s biggest surprises last season, catching 22 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns after transferring from Alabama. Davis had 13 catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns last season. Van Dorselaer and Brame, two freshmen who were former four-star prospects, give the tight end room added depth.

Offensive Line

Left Tackle	Lance Heard
Backup	Bennett Warren
Left Guard	Wendell Moe
Backup	Shamurad Umarov
Center	Sam Pendleton OR
Backup	William Satterwhite
Right Guard	Jesse Perry OR
Backup	Sam Pendleton
Backup	Max Anderson
Right Tackle	David Sanders
Backup	Brian Grant

Tennessee’s offensive line has paved the way for 1,967 yards rushing and 27 rushing touchdowns on 377 rush attempts in 10 games. The Vols have passed for 3,183 yards and 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while allowing 13 sacks for a combined loss of 97 yards.

Five-star freshman David Sanders Jr. missed the first four games of the season due to an upper-body injury, but made his debut at Mississippi State, playing 11 snaps off the bench in the second half. Sanders made his first career start at Kentucky, shifting Jesse Perry back to right guard to replace and moving Wendell Moe Jr. back to left guard, with Sam Pendleton at center and Lance Heard at left tackle.

Sanders headlined Tennessee’s recruiting class as a top-10 prospect and the No. 2 offensive tackle in the Rivals Industry Ranking. Pendleton transferred from Notre Dame and Moe, and Arizona transfer, has impressed at guard.

Defensive Tackle

Starter	Bryson Eason
Backup	Daevin Hobbs OR
Backup	Nathan Robinson OR
Backup	Isaiah Campbell
Starter	Jaxson Moi
Backup	Jamal Wallace OR
Backup	Ethan Utley

Defensive End

Starter	Dominic Bailey
Backup	Tyree Weathersby OR
Backup	Tyre West OR
Backup	Mariyon Dye

LEO

Starter	Joshua Josephs
Backup	Caleb Herring OR
Backup	Jordan Ross

Weakside Linebacker

Starter	Arion Carter
Backup	Ben Bolton OR
Backup	Jordan Burns

Middle Linebacker

Starter	Jeremiah Telander
Backup	Edwin Spillman

Cornerback

Starter	Jermod McCoy
Backup	Colton Hood OR
Backup	William Wright
Starter	Rickey Gibson II
Backup	Ty Redmond OR
Backup	Tre Poteat

Safety

Starter	Edrees Farooq OR
Backup	Kaleb Beasley
Backup	Dylan Lewis
Starter	Andre Turrentine
Backup	Sydney Walton OR
Backup	Timothy Merritt

Star

Starter	Jalen McMurray
Backup	Marcus Goree Jr.

Edwin Spillman has taken the team lead in tackles with 65, to go with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Arion Carter is second with 63 tackles despite missing the Kentucky game and playing limited snaps against Oklahoma.

Edrees Farooq is up to 57 tackles. He also returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown at Kentucky. Jeremiah Telander has another 54 tackles, Andre Turrentine has 50 and Jalen McMurray has 48

Dominic Bailey leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss each while Joshua Josephs, Caleb Herring and McMurray have 6.0 each. Bailey has a team-high 5.5 sacks, while Tyre West, Josephs and Herring have 4.0 each.

Jermod McCoy suffered a torn ACL while working out on his own in January. He returned to the practice field in a limited role during fall camp. Rickey Gibson III, Tennessee’s starter at corner opposite of McCoy, is also out for an extended period of time due to an arm injury.

Special Teams

Jackson Ross has punted 31 times for 1m372 yards, averaging 44.3 yards per punt. Max Gilbert is 12-for-15 on field goals so far, connecting on a career long of 53 yards against ETSU in Week 2. He’s 53-for-53 on extra points.

Daune Morris, who replaced Boo Carter at punt returner last week, has returned three punts for 24 yards, with a long of 11. Braylon Staley has returned two punts for a combined loss of five yards. Peyton Lewis has returned six kickoffs for a total of 128 yards, averaging 21.3 yards per return. Morris has returned one kick for 44 yards.