No. 6 Tennessee's official depth chart for Saturday night's game at No. 15 Oklahoma
No. 6 Tennessee’s official depth chart as the Vols (3-0) go to No. 15 Oklahoma (3-0) on Saturday night (7:30 Eastern Time, ABC) at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman:
Quarterback
| Starter | Nico Iamaleava |
| Backup | Gaston Moore |
| Backup | Jake Merklinger |
Nico Iamaleava through three games is 48-for-67 (.716) for 698 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. He has a long of 59 and is averaging 232.6 yards per game. Iamaleava has also rushed 17 times for 109 yards and a touchdown.
Gaston Moore started the second half of the season opener against Chattanooga and played in the second quarter against Kent State, going a combined 11-for-16 for 163 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Freshman Jake Merklinger started the second half against Kent State and played in the second half against Chattanooga, completing 6 of 9 passes for 48 yards. He has rushed seven times for 30 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 45 times for 357 yards and nine touchdowns with a long of 56. He’s averaging 119.0 yards per game. DeSean Bishop has rushed 22 times for 222 yards and three touchdowns, Khalifa Keith has 17 carries for 62 yards and Peyton Lewis 17 carries for 118 yards. Cameron Seldon ran seven times for 47 yards against Chattanooga but was inactive against both NC State and 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 five catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Bru McCoy has eight catches for 108 yards and Squirrel White has five catches for 108 yards. Chris Brazzell III has caught 10 passes for 140 yards.
Tight Ends
| Starter | Ethan Davis |
| -or- Miles Kitselman | |
| -or- Holden Staes |
All three Tennessee tight ends have caught touchdown passes this season. Miles Kitselman has four catches for 54 yards and Holden Staes has four catches for 47 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. Heard was inactive against Kent State. 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, 34 against NC State and 44 against Kent State. The defense so far has 4.0 sacks and 20.0 tackles for loss.
Defensive End
| Starter | Dominic Bailey |
| -or- Tyre West | |
| -or- Jayson Jenkins | |
| -or- Tyree Weathersby |
Tyre West has 6.0 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks through two games. Dominic Bailey has 7.0 tackles, one tackle for loss, one 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 1.0 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss through three games, along with five quarterback hurries. Joshua Josephs has 6.0 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
Weakside Linebacker
| Starter | Arion Carter -or- Kalib Perry |
| Backup | Jalen Smith |
Arion Carter has 9.0 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass broken up and a quarterback hit. Kalib Perry was inactive against NC State but returned against Kent State, recording three assisted tackles.
Middle Linebacker
| Starter | Keenan Pili -or- Jeremiah Telander |
| Backup | Edwin Spillman |
Keenan Pili has 9.0 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. Jeremiah Telander has 8.0 tackles and a fumble recovery. Edwin Spillman missed the first two games with a quad issue, then returned against Kent State, recording two assisted tackles.
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 two passes broken up, Jalen McMurray has 3.0 tackles and Jordan Matthews has 3.0 tackles. 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. He leads the Vols with 10.0 tackles and has 1.0 tackles for loss. Jakobe Thomas has 9.0 tackles and had a sack against NC State.
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 5.0 tackles and two quarterback hits. The two continue to rotate at the Star position.
Special Teams
| Placekicker | Max Gilbert -or- Josh Turbyville |
| Backup | JT Carver |
| Punter | Jackson Ross |
| Backup | Josh Turbyville |
| Kickoff | Josh Turbyville |
| Backup | Max Gilbert |
| Longsnapper | Matthew Salansky -or- Bennett Brady |
| Holder | Jackson Ross |
| Kick Returner | Cameron Seldon -or- DeSean Bishop |
| Punt Returner | Squirrel White |
| -or- Jermod McCoy | |
| -or- Boo Carter |
Max Gilbert is 7-for-8 on field goals with a long of 45. He missed a 53-yard attempt late against NC State. Squirrel White has returned five punts for a total of 100 yards, averaging 20.0 yards per return. Jermod McCoy has also fielded a punt. Jackson Ross has punted twice for 66 yards, with a long of 43.
