Javontez Spraggins makes call on final season of eligibility
Javontez Spraggins signed with Tennessee as a member of the 2020 recruiting class and has since been a focal point along Tennessee’s offensive line during his tenure on Rocky Top.
Due to the COVID eligibility waiver, Spraggins is able to return to school for another season, which left him with a decision to make following the 2023 season. Moments ago on social media, he announced his intentions to return to the Vols in 2024.
“I’m back,” Spraggins posted.
Need every crumb…. pic.twitter.com/lotPkHWlvQ
— javontez spraggins (@j_spraggins76) January 25, 2024
The news comes after Spraggins suffered a season-ending injury against Georgia. He had started 36 straight games at right guard prior to the injury.
“Sprags will be out the remainder of the season,” Josh Heupel said following the injury. “Unfortunate injury to a guy that pours into his teammates. Has great energy, competes extremely hard, plays really hard, and continues to get better as a player. And disappointed for him, certainly.”
Over the course of his Tennessee career, Spraggins has been a highly efficient offensive lineman for the Vols, working mostly at right guard, and he has been regarded, at times, as one of the best interior offensive linemen in the conference.
Spraggins has played in 44 games, including 37 starts, since arriving on Rocky Top. Of those 37 starts, 36 came at right guard. Spraggins came into the 2023 campaign as a pre-season, All-SEC selection.
Spraggins is at least the seventh Tennessee senior to announce his return for 2024 and is the fifth offensive lineman to do so. He joins wide receiver Bru McCoy, offensive lineman John Campbell, Dayne Davis, Jackson Lampley and Cooper Mays, linebacker Keenan Pili, defensive lineman Omari Thomas and center
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Campbell spent five years at Miami before transferring to Tennessee. He started the first 10 games of the season for the Vols at left tackle before dealing with an injury over the final three weeks of the regular season. i.
Pili, the BYU transfer, was lost to what proved to be a season-ending injury in the season-opening win over Virginia on September 2. He finished the Virginia game with four tackles, including two solo tackles. He earned a game ball after the win, after playing 30 snaps. Pili spent the last four years at BYU, where he had 191 tackles in 34 career games.
Thomas, the 6-foot-4, 320-pound Memphis native and product of Briarcrest Christian High School, is coming off a career-high 31 tackles in 11 games this season. He had 1.0 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss, his highest TFL total since he had 5.0 in 12 games in 2021.
Mays was sidelined by an abdominal injury for four games to start the 2023 season. He returned against Texas A&M. McCoy caught 17 passes for 217 yards and a touchdown before being lost for the season after suffering a gruesome ankle injury against South Carolina in September. He caught 52 passes for 667 yards and four touchdowns in 2022.
