Tennessee Football's depth chart for Saturday night's game vs. Kent State

Tennessee Football on Monday released its official depth chart for Saturday night’s game against Kent State, scheduled for a 7:45 Eastern Time start on SEC Network. Here’s how the Vols will line up against the Golden Flashes:

Quarterback

Starter	Nico Iamaleava
Backup	Gaston Moore
Backup	Jake Merklinger

Nico Iamaleava through two games is 38-for-51 (.745) for 525 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. He has a long of 59 and is averaging 262.5 yards per game. Iamaleava has also rushed 12 times for 78 yards and a touchdown.

Gaston Moore started the second half of the season opener against Chattanooga, going 7-for-12 for 69 yards with one interception. Freshman Jake Merklinger completed all four of his attempts for 31 yards. 

Running Back

Starter	Dylan Sampson
	-or- Cam Seldon
	-or- DeSean Bishop
	-or- Khalifa Keith
	-or- Peyton Lewis

Dylan Sampson has been dominant so far, carrying 32 times for 262 yards and five touchdowns with a long of 56. He’s averaging 128.0 yards per game. DeSean Bishop has rushed 15 times for 102 yards and a touchdown, Khalifa Keith has 13 carries for 39 yards and Peyton Lewis seven carries for 19 yards. Cameron Seldon ran seven times for 47 yards against Chattanooga but was inactive against NC State. He is expected to return Saturday night against Kent State.

Wide Receivers

Starter	Chris Brazzell -or- Dont’e Thornton
Backup	Nathan Leacock
Starter	Bru McCoy -or- Kaleb Webb
Backup	Mike Matthews
Starter	Squirrel White -or- Chas Nimrod
Backup	Braylon Staley

Dont’e Thornton is Tennessee’s leading receiver with three catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns, despite not catching a pass in the win over NC State. Bru McCoy has seven catches for 99 yards and Squirrel White has four catches for 89 yards. Chris Brazzell III eight catches for 77 yards.

Tight Ends

Starter	Ethan Davis
	-or- Miles Kitselman
	-or- Holden Staes

All three Tennessee tight ends have caught a touchdown pass through the first two games of the season. Miles Kitselman has three catches for 39 yards and Holden Staes has three catches for 31 yards, with both catching a touchdown against NC State. Ethan Davis has four catches for 34 yards and caught the first touchdown of the season against Chattanooga.

Offensive Line

Left Tackle	Lance Heard -or- Larry Johnson III
Left Guard	Andrej Karic -or- Jackson Lampley
Center	Cooper Mays
Backup	William Satterwhite -or- Vysen Lang
Right Guard	Javontez Spraggins
Backup	Shamurad Umarov
Right Tackle	John Campbell -or- Dayne Davis

Tennessee’s starters on the offensive line for the first two games have been Cooper Mays at center, Andrej Karic at left guard, Javontez Spraggins at right guard, Lance Heard at left tackle and John Campbell at right tackle. The Vols so far has rushed for 553 yards and have eight rushing touchdowns. They’ve given up just two sacks.

Defensive Line

Starter	Bryson Eason
	-or- Omarr Norman-Lott
	-or- Daevin Hobbs
Starter	Omari Thomas
	-or- Elijah Simmons
	-or- Jaxson Moi

Tennessee played 47 different players on defense against Chattanooga and 34 against NC State, including a heavy and deep rotation on the defensive line in both games. The Vols had 13 tackles for loss against the Wolfpack coming from a total of 16 players. They also had three sacks on the night.

Defensive End

Starter	Dominic Bailey
	-or- Tyre West
	-or- Jayson Jenkins
	-or- Tyree Weathersby

Tyre West has 5.0 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks through two games. Dominic Bailey is one of five players that have a team-high 6.0 tackles. He also has a tackle for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

LEO

Starter	James Pearce Jr.
	-or- Joshua Josephs
	-or- Caleb Herring
	-or- Jordan Ross

James Pearce Jr. has one tackle and 0.5 tackles for loss through two games, along with two quarterback hurries. Joshua Josephs has 5.0 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. His rush on NC State quarterback Grayson McCall Saturday night forced a high throw that safety Will Brooks intercepted and returned 85 yards for a touchdown.

Weakside Linebacker

Starter	Arion Carter
	-or- Kalib Perry
Backup	Jalen Smith

Arion Carter has 6.0 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass broken up and a quarterback hit. Kalib Perry was inactive against NC State but also is expected to be available against Kent State.

Middle Linebacker

Starter	Keenan Pili
	-or- Jeremiah Telander
Backup	Edwin Spillman

Keenan Pili has 6.0 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Jeremiah Telander has 5.0 tackles and a fumble recovery. Edwin Spillman has missed the first two games with a quad issue.

Cornerback

Starter	Jermod McCoy -or- Jordan Matthews
Backup	Wiliam Wright
Starter	Rickey Gibson II -or- Jalen McMurray
Backup	Kaleb Beasley

Jermod McCoy has 5.0 tackles and a pass broken up, Jalen McMurray has 2.0 tackles and Jordan Matthews has one tackle. Rickey Gibson II returned against NC State after missing the Chattanooga game with a hamstring problem.

Safety

Starter	Will Brooks -or- Christian Charles
Backup	Edrees Farooq
Starter	Andre Turrentine -or- Jakobe Thomas
Backup	John Slaughter

Will Brooks had an interception returned 85 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter against NC State, putting Tennessee up 17-3 and changing the game for good. Jakobe Thomas had a sack against NC State and has 5.0 tackles and a pass broken up through two games.

Star

Starter	Christian Harrison
	-or- Boo Carter

Christian Harrison has 3.0 tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss and a quarterback hit. Boo Carter has 4.0 tackles and two quarterback hits. Carter has played 53 snaps through two games to Harrison’s 46.

Special Teams

Max Gilbert is 5-for-6 on field goals with a long of 45. He missed a 53-yard attempt late against NC State. Squirrel White has returned four punts for a total of 78 yards, averaging 19.5 yards per return. Jermod McCoy also fielded a punt. Cameron Seldon returned the opening kickoff 35 yards against Chattanooga, the only kickoff return of the season so far. Jackson Ross has punted two times for 66 yards, with a long of 43.