Tennessee football: 3 biggest offseason questions

2. Who replaces Ty Chandler and Eric Gray in the Volunteers backfield?

One of the Vols’ few strengths this past season has become a glaring weakness. They had a really strong rushing attack tandem with Ty Chandler and Eric Gray. For a minute there, we thought Tennessee could hang tough with the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs in SEC East play, but here we are. Now both star running backs have transferred to other marquee Power 5 programs.

Chandler has gone to ACC contender North Carolina, while Gray linked up with a few other Tennessee dissenters at Oklahoma. Their departures leave a ton of carries to be had in the backfield. The question remains who will be toting the rock for the Vols this season. Who is still on the roster and who is joining the team that Heupel can trust to give him a reliable running game?

Of the guys still on the Tennessee roster look for players like Jabari Small and Dee Beckwith to take advantage of an increased allotment of carries. Though they only combined for 29 carries last season, they are the two returning leading rushers outside of quarterback from a season ago with 117 yards and 25 yards on the ground, respectively. Again, it is not a lot to work with, honestly.

However, Tennessee did get a big-time junior college transfer in Tiyon Evans. So that really helps out a depleted backfield considerably. So expect some combination of Beckwith, Evans and Small to be the running back stable that Heupel leans on in year one. Three-star Jaylen Wright also enrolled early like Evans. Maybe Wright and 2021 signee Cody Brown help alleviate the burden?