Depth Chart: How No. 22 Tennessee will line up Saturday against East Tennessee State

A closer look at Tennessee Football’s unofficial depth chart for the home opener against East Tennessee State on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN+/SEC Network+) at Neyland Stadium:

Quarterback

Starter	Joey Aguilar
Backup	Jake Merklinger
Backup	George MacIntyre

Joey Aguilar completed 16 of 28 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns in his debut as Tennessee’s starting quarterback. He ran six times for 34 yards, with a long of 25, and had touchdown passes of 73 yards to Braylon Staley, 7 yards to Star Thomas and 2 yards to Miles Kitselman.

Redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger appeared in two games last season, completing 6 of 9 passes for 48 yards and running seven times for 22 yards. Freshman George 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

Tennessee ran 40 times as a team for 246 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against Syracuse. Star Thomas had 12 carries for 92 yards, DeSean Bishop ran 1 times for 82 yards and a touchdown and Peyton Lewis had eight attempts for 38 yards. Bishop also caught two passes for 44 yards.

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 led Tennessee in targets (8) and receptions (5) to go with his 62 yards receiving, including a long of 18. Braylon Staley caught four passes for 95 yards, including the 73-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and Mike Matthews caught two passes on five targets for 29 yards.

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 caught two passes for 10 yards, including the 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to conclude the scoring. Kitselman played 62 snaps, ahead 40 for Ethan Davis, seven for Jack Van Dorselaer and one for Dasaahn Brame.

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 paved the way for the 246 yards rushing and did not give up a sack despite having to shuffle spots due to injury. After five-star freshman David Sanders Jr. was ruled out pregame due to injury, Jesse Perry shifted to right tackle, 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.

Tennessee’s defense finished with 5.0 sacks for a combined loss of 39 yards and had 7.0 tackles for loss for a combined loss of 45 yards against Syracuse.

Arion Carter led the team with nine tackles and added one sack. Joshua Josephs had seven tackles and a sack, as did Jalen McMurray, and Edwin Spillman and Nathan Robinson had one sack each. Jeremiah Telander and Jordan Ross also had one tackle for loss each.

Telander had a diving interception early in the third quarter and Hood returned a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter.

Syracuse finished with 377 yards on 84 offensive plays, averaging 4.48 yards per play. The Orange rushed 44 times for 103 yards and completed 23 of 40 passes for 274 yards.

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.

Special Teams

Jackson Ross punted four times for 175 yards against Syracuse, averaging 43.8 yards per punt. He had a long of 56 and had three of the four punts downed inside the 20. 

Max Gilbert kicked one field goal from 34 yards and went 6-for-6 on extra points. Josh Turbyville had touchbacks on all eight of his kickoffs. 

Braylon Staley returned one punt for two yards and Peyton Lewis returned one kickoff for 24 yards.