The Tennessee Volunteers knew they’d have to replace former starting middle linebacker A.J. Johnson this offseason, and there’s no arguing that vacancy at the heart of the defense is the biggest question mark staring down the Vols defense this spring.

Tennessee maintains as much depth as any team in the SEC along the defensive line, and returning outside linebackers Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Curt Maggitt add an even greater threat at the line of scrimmage from the edges. With plenty of talent returning in the secondary as well, including both the team’s starting safeties in 2014, that leaves just one gap within the unit, that being at middle linebacker.

While there are plenty of worthy candidates in the mix, there is no obvious replacement for Johnson on the roster, which makes the hole in the middle all the more glaring.

Players like Kenny Bynum, UT’s starter in the middle for last year’s TaxSlayer Bowl victory, Darrin Kirkland Jr., Jakob Johnson and Gavin Bryant will all be given a shot to win the job, and head coach Butch Jones already told reporters some of his linebackers will have a chance to play all three positions this spring due to issues regarding depth on the roster.

With Kirkland and Johnson out for the spring nursing injuries, the coming spring practice season presents a golden opportunity for one Tennessee linebacker in particular: rising redshirt freshman Dillon Bates.

Bates is an outside linebacker who possesses many of the same skills desired in an inside linebacker prospect, giving him a chance to make the move inside this spring.

247Sports’ Wes Rucker gave this assessment of Bates in a recent article discussing Tennessee’s linebacker corps:

Bates, a son of former Vols star and Dallas Cowboys All-Pro Bill Bates, is an outside linebacker by trade but has the size (6-foot-3, 230 pounds), strength, athleticism, intelligence and leadership potential to make him an intriguing candidate in the middle. And despite being at least a bit limited this spring while coming back from surgery last fall to repair a torn shoulder labrum, he’ll get some chances to show what he can do at Mike.

Jones said his emphasis will be to teach certain linebackers multiple positions to add depth across the board without having to add bodies. The strategy is sound, but may be easier said than done.

However, Bates is a prime candidate to learn multiple positions this spring, which could make him one of the most important players on the defense when training camp begins near the end of the summer.

“It’s a great opportunity for Dillon Bates to learn a number of linebacker positions … but it is going to be a challenge,” Jones told Rucker. “We’ll give some individuals a chance to show what they can do for us in different spots. It’s a great challenge, but it’s also a great opportunity.”

Bates played four games last season before suffering a season-ending torn labrum and applying for a medical redshirt, and he recorded six tackles in those four games. He’s still recovering from the injury, but he’s already establishing himself as one of the most intelligent players on the roster and a reputation as a player eager to contribute in any way possible.

Those traits will come in handy this spring, and if Bates can get himself up to speed as a middle linebacker, even in a reserve role, he’ll be an asset Jones turns to throughout the year.

So as strange as it is to consider, a team with as much returning talent and as many star recruits as Tennessee claims may be relying on a redshirt freshman linebacker to complete an otherwise-loaded defense in 2015.