The Depth Chart: How No. 17 Tennessee will lineup against Kentucky

A closer look at No. 17 Tennessee’s unofficial depth chart for against Kentucky on Saturday (7:30 p.m. Eastern Time) at Kroger Field in Lexington:

Quarterback

Starter	Joey Aguilar
Backup	Jake Merklinger
Backup	George MacIntyre

Joey Aguilar through seven games has completed 146 of 226 passes for 1,948 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has rushed 34 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns. He was 28-for-44 for 268 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 37-20 loss at Alabama last week. He was sacked four times after only being sacked three times through the first six games.

Redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger has completed 12 of 22 passes for 175 yards in two appearances as the backup quarterback. Freshman George MacIntyre is 6-for-7 for 52 yards in one appearance.

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 OR

Star Thomas OR

Daune Morris OR

Justin Baker

DeSean Bishop leads Tennessee in yards, carries and touchdowns with 77 attempts for 604 yards and seven touchdowns. Star Thomas has 354 yards on 65 carries and four touchdowns and Peyton Lewis has 49 rushes for 218 yards and five touchdowns. Bishop has taken over the backfield the last two games, rushing 269 yards and three touchdowns against Arkansas and Alabama.

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 leads Tennessee with 39 catches for 602 yards and seven touchdowns in seven games. Braylon Staley has 41 catches for 523 yards and three touchdowns and Mike Matthews has 29 catches for 455 yards and two 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
Backup	Ethan Davis
Backup	Jack Van Dorselaer
Backup	DaSaahn Brame OR
Backup	Cole Harrison

Miles Kitselman has 22 catches for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Dasaahn Brame has five catches for 54 yards, freshman Jack Van Dorselaer has two catches for 12 yards and redshirt freshman Ethan Davis has one catch for one yard.

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 1,402 yards rushing and 19 rushing touchdowns on 263 rush attempts seven games. The Vols have now allowed only nine sacks on the season while throwing for 2,175 yards and 17 touchdowns.

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. Jesse Perry shifted to right tackle to replace Sanders after the injury, while Wendell Moe Jr. replaced Perry at right guard and Shamurad Umarov stepped in at left guard.

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	Boo Carter
Backup	Marcus Goree Jr.

Arion Carter leads Tennessee and the SEC with 61 tackles in seven games but has been listed as questionable all week on the SEC Injury Report. Edrees Farooq is now second on the team with 40 tackles, ahead of Andre Turrentine and Jeremiah Telander with 39 each. Edwin Spillman has 34 and Jalen McMurray has 33.

Joshua Josephs has a team-high 6.0 tackles for loss and is tied for the team lead with 4.0 sacks. Tennessee is second in the SEC with 26.0 sacks in seven games.

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 22 times for 977 yards, averaging 44.4 yards per punt. Max Gilbert has 10-for-12 on field goals so far, connecting on a career long of 53 yards against ETSU in Week 2. He’s 36-for-36 on extra points.

Boo Carter returned nine punts for 137 yards, averaging 15.2 yards per return with a long of 40. Daune Morris has returned three punts for 24 yards, with a long of 11, and Braylon Staley has returned two punts for a combined loss of five yards. Peyton Lewis has returned two kickoffs for a total of 42 yards, with a long of 24.