The Depth Chart: How No. 21 Tennessee will line up against New Mexico State

A closer look at No. 21 Tennessee’s unofficial depth chart for against New Mexico State on Saturday (4:15 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium:

Starter	Joey Aguilar
Backup	Jake Merklinger
Backup	George MacIntyre

Joey Aguilar through nine games has completed 195 of 297 passes for 2,737 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has rushed 48 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns. He was 29-for-45 for 393 yards with three touchdowns, two interceptions and a lost fumble in the 33-27 loss to Oklahoma.

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 103 attempts for 690 yards and nine touchdowns. Star Thomas has 428 yards on 80 carries and five touchdowns and Peyton Lewis has 60 rushes for 248 yards and six 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 49 catches for a team-high 808 yards and eight touchdowns and eight touchdowns. Braylon Staley has taken the team lead with 52 catches and now has 703 yards and five touchdowns and Mike Matthews has 38 catches for 638 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
Backup	Ethan Davis
Backup	Jack Van Dorselaer
Backup	DaSaahn Brame OR
Backup	Cole Harrison

Miles Kitselman has 25 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Ethan Davis has eight catches for 86 yards and a touchdown, freshman Dasaahn Brame has five catches for 54 yards and freshman Jack Van Dorselaer has two catches for 12 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 running backs have run for 1,772 yards rushing and 23 rushing touchdowns on 338 rush attempts in eight games. The Vols have passed for 2,964 yards and 23 touchdowns and eight 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	Boo Carter
Backup	Marcus Goree Jr.

Arion Carter still leads Tennessee with 63 tackles despite missing the Kentucky game and playing limited snaps against Oklahoma. Edwin Spillman is now second on the team with 58 tackles, to go with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

Edrees Farooq is up to 55 tackles, after adding 10 more against Oklahoma. He also returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown at Kentucky. Jeremiah Telander has another 52 tackles, Andre Turrentine has 46 and Jalen McMurray has 43

Joshua Josephs and Dominic Bailey lead the team with 6.0 tackles for loss each. Bailey has a team-high 4.5 sacks, while Josephs and Tyre West 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 27 times for 1,197 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 47-for-47 on extra points.

Boo Carter has returned 11 punts for 145 yards, averaging 13.2 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 five kickoffs for a total of 108 yards, averaging 21.6 yards per return. Morris has returned one kick for 44 yards.