No. 7 Tennessee's official depth chart for the Mississippi State game
A look at Tennessee Football’s official depth chart for Saturday night’s game against Mississippi State, scheduled for a 7 Eastern Time start on ESPN. Here’s how the Vols will line up on Homecoming against the Bulldogs:
Quarterback
| Starter | Nico Iamaleava |
| Backup | Gaston Moore |
| Backup | Jake Merklinger |
Nico Iamaleava is 136-for-208 (.653) for 1,705 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He has rushed 60 times for 193 net yards and has one rushing touchdown. Iamaleava is averaging 213.13 passing yards per game and has a quarterback rating of 144.67.
Gaston Moore has appeared in four games, completing 11 of 17 passes for 163 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Freshman Jake Merklinger is 6-for-9 for 48 yards and has rushed seven times for 30 yards.
Running Back
| Starter | Dylan Sampson |
| Backup | Cam Seldon |
| -or- DeSean Bishop | |
| -or- Khalifa Keith | |
| -or- Peyton Lewis |
Dylan Sampson has rushed 171 times for 980 yards and 19 touchdowns. DeSean Bishop has ran 54 times for 372 yards and three touchdowns. Peyton Lewis has 25 carries for 142 yards and a touchdown and Cam Seldon has eight carries for 48 yards in four games.
Bishop was hurt on this third snap in the 28-18 win over Kentucky on Saturday night and is out for the Mississippi State game. Lewis replaced him last week, running eight times for 24 yards and a touchdown.
Wide Receivers
| Starter | Dont’e Thornton -or- Chris Brazzell II |
| Backup | Nathan Leacock |
| Starter | Bru McCoy -or- Kaleb Webb |
| Backup | Mike Matthews |
| Starter | Squirrel White -or- Chas Nimrod |
| Backup | Braylon Staley |
Dont’e Thornton leads Tennessee in receiving yards and touchdowns, catching 17 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns. Bru McCoy has a team-high 25 receptions for 345 yards and Chris Brazzell II has 20 catches for 248 yards and two touchdowns. Squirrel White 20 catches, too, for 230 yards.
Tight Ends
| Starter | Ethan Davis |
| -or- Miles Kitselman | |
| -or- Holden Staes |
Holden Staes has 12 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown at tight end and Miles Kitselman has 12 catches for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Ethan Davis has nine catches for 64 yards and a touchdown.
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 regular starters on the offensive line are 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. Heard returned at Arkansas after missing two games.
Top 10
- 1
RIP Ben
Kirk Herbstreit announces dog's passing
- 2Hot
PETA slams LSU
Live tiger on sideline draws ire
- 3
Hugh Freeze
Auburn HC addresses boos
- 4
Livvy Dunne - Paul Skenes
ESPN College GameDay Guest Pickers
- 5
Billy Napier
Florida to retain head coach
Dayne Davis started at left tackle in place of Heard at Oklahoma and Larry Johnson has played in place of John Campbell at right tackle while Campbell has dealt with injury.
Defensive Line
| Starter | Bryson Eason |
| -or- Omarr Norman-Lott | |
| -or- Daevin Hobbs | |
| Starter | Omari Thomas |
| -or- Elijah Simmons | |
| -or- Jaxson Moi |
Defensive End
| Starter | Dominic Bailey |
| -or- Tyre West | |
| -or- Jayson Jenkins | |
| -or- Tyree Weathersby |
LEO
| Starter | James Pearce Jr. |
| -or- Joshua Josephs | |
| -or- Caleb Herring | |
| -or- Jordan Ross |
Weakside Linebacker
| Starter | Arion Carter -or- Kalib Perry |
Middle Linebacker
| Starter | Jeremiah Telander -or- Jalen Smith |
| Backup | Edwin Spillman |
Cornerback
| Starter | Jermod McCoy -or- Jordan Matthews |
| Backup | Wiliam Wright |
| Starter | Rickey Gibson II -or- Jalen McMurray |
| Backup | Kaleb Beasley |
Safety
| Starter | Will Brooks -or- Christian Charles |
| Backup | Edrees Farooq |
| Starter | Andre Turrentine -or- Jakobe Thomas |
| Backup | John Slaughter |
Star
| Starter | Christian Harrison |
| -or- Boo Carter |
Arion Carter has a team-high 43.0 tackles, with 16 solo and 27 assisted, to go with an interception. He has 4.5 tackles for loss. Will Brooks has 37.0 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and four passes broken up.
James Pearce Jr. has a team-high 6.5 tackles for loss and Joshua Josephs has 6.0. Carter has 4.5 and Tyre West has 4.0.
Pearce leads the Vols 4.5 sacks and eight quarterback hurries. Jermod McCoy leads the team with six passes broken up and has two interceptions and 25.0 tackles.
Special Teams
| Placekicker | Max Gilbert |
| Backup | Josh Turbyville |
| Punter | Jackson Ross |
| Backup | Josh Turbyville |
| Kickoff | Josh Turbyville |
| Backup | Max Gilbert |
| Longsnapper | Matthew Salansky |
| Backup | Bennett Brady |
| Holder | Jackson Ross |
| Kick Returner | Cameron Seldon -or- DeSean Bishop -or- Mike Matthews |
| Punt Returner | Squirrel White |
| -or- Jermod McCoy | |
| -or- Boo Carter |
Max Gilbert is 12-for-18 on field goals with a long of 45. He missed a 53-yard attempt late against NC State, missed twice against Alabama, finishing 1-for-3, and went 0-for-3 against Kentucky. Jackson Ross has punted 31 times for 1,377 yards with two touch backs, eight fair catches, 11 downed inside the 20 and six that went 50 or more yards.
Squirrel White has returned seven punts for 112 yards, with a long of 31. Jermod McCoy has returned six for 59, with a long of 23, and Boo Carter has returned two for 55 yards, with a long of 35.
