Lucas Panzica lists three massive storylines heading into spring practice for the Tennessee Volunteers.
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00:00It is about that time. Spring practice has rolled around for the Tennessee Volunteers.
00:04They will be on the practice field this Friday ahead of the spring game on April 12th,
00:10and we've got three big storylines to watch throughout the course of spring ball for the Vols.
00:18Hey, Lucas Panzeca here from 104.5 The Zone and A to Z Sports. Up first, we're talking about the
00:24cornerback position, specifically Ricky Gibson, the cornerback who a couple of weeks ago
00:29reportedly, according to On 3 Sports, plans to enter the transfer portal in the spring window
00:35after spring practice. Now, the big question around Ricky Gibson was, will he participate
00:41in spring practice if he is indeed holding out for a new NIL package? And it seems like,
00:47according to reports like Knoxville News Sentinel and On 3 Sports, that that answer
00:52is yes, that Ricky Gibson plans to be on the practice field throughout the course of spring
00:58practice. That is a pivotal position right now for the Vols because All-SEC cornerback Jermod
01:03McCoy is out with an ACL injury that he suffered about a month ago, and he's expected to miss at
01:10least the beginning of the 2025 season. So when Ricky Gibson had that report come out that he
01:16plans to enter the portal, red flags went up about the cornerback position, which figured to be a
01:21huge strength for Tennessee in 2025. So Gibson apparently will be on the practice field,
01:28but how that relationship between he and the football program plays out over the course of
01:33the next few weeks in order to keep him in Knoxville will be key and a huge part of Tennessee's
01:40approach to spring practice on or off the field. Number two, the offensive line, which returns
01:46one starter from 2024, and that is left tackle Lance Hurd, the LSU transfer. That's right.
01:52Tennessee replacing every starter from left guard over to right tackle from 2024. I don't think
02:00there is a single position on this roster that is going to see as much of an overhaul as the
02:06offensive line. Now, David Sanders, the five star tackle prospect, has been on campus since
02:12preparation for the college football playoff. He will be there participating in spring practice.
02:17Will he play more at left tackle or right tackle? It could be a key part of this, as well as the
02:22competition on the interior of the offensive line. Tennessee will work in multiple transfers like
02:28Wendell Moe from Arizona and Sam Pendleton, the former Notre Dame center and guard, as they fill
02:34some big holes left by guys like Cooper Mays and Javante Spragans, and they will compete along with
02:41the in-house players that have been brought on campus by Josh Heupel and his staff. But there is
02:46a large task ahead for Tennessee and offensive line coach Glenn Ellerbee to find a cohesive
02:52unit of five guys that can replace what had turned into a really stable offensive line unit for
02:58Tennessee over the last few years. And the third biggest storyline that I'm keeping an eye on
03:03throughout spring practice is another position that sees a pretty big overhaul from 2024,
03:09and that is at wide receiver. As far as proven names go, there's really only one returning for
03:16Tennessee this year, and that is Chris Brazel, the former two-lane transfer. He's Tennessee's
03:20lead returning receiver. The Vols did get a big win in the offseason, retaining former five-star
03:26Mike Matthews, who reportedly toyed with entering the portal after the conclusion of the 2024
03:32season but elected to withdraw his name and remain with Tennessee. The former five-star has got to
03:38take a big leap in year two and, quite frankly, be a star for this Tennessee offense to get back to
03:45some of the levels that we saw back in 2022. Otherwise, you have guys like Braylon Staley
03:51that have been on campus, guys like Travis Smith, highly recruited prospects coming in,
03:56hopefully, to compete and find a good at least three-man rotation and figure out which of these
04:02guys can first build chemistry with Nico Iemaliava, who, of course, is looking to take a big year two
04:08leap as one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football. At least that's the expectation
04:14for Nico in 2025. The relationship building on and off the field with a largely unproven wide
04:20receiver core will be a big piece of that puzzle moving forward. Tennessee's spring game is on
04:26April 12th. Unfortunately, it will not be televised. That's becoming more of the norm
04:31across college football, but a few weeks that can be critical for this football team
04:36to answer a lot of questions that it has going into 2025,
04:40and we'll keep you updated with more right here on A-Z Sports.