Most expect this year’s Tennessee defense to be an improved version of the unit that finished eighth in the SEC in 2014. The biggest reason for that optimism is the talent UT has loaded into its front seven at virtually every position.

The Vols return star sophomore Derek Barnett, one of two players to break Jadeveon Clowney’s freshman sack record last season, and joining him will be returning linebackers Curt Maggitt and Jalen Reeves-Maybin. Four- and five-star defensive line signees from this year’s recruiting class like Kyle Phillips, Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie are also expected to enhance the front seven.

But one group that is often overlooked when looking ahead to the coming season is the Tennessee secondary, which returns 75 percent of its starters from a year ago.

Yes, senior cornerback Justin Coleman has graduated from UT and is on his way to the NFL, but fellow corner Cam Sutton is back for at least one more year, as are both of the team’s starting safeties: Brian Randolph and LaDarrell McNeil.

Sutton was the team’s best cover corner last season and is perhaps one of the best cover corners returning to the SEC in 2015. He broke up a team-high 13 passes a season ago (no one else on the team registered more than six), and his three interceptions were tied for second on the team behind Coleman.

Go Vols 247 called Sutton “arguably the best pure football player on Tennessee’s roster,” and considering he was tied for the team lead in passes broken up as a freshman starter in 2013 as well, that’s not hard to believe. Sutton is the leader of the group and a contender to earn All-SEC honors for the first time in 2015.

He’ll be joined in the starting lineup by Coleman’s replacement, rising sophomore Emmanuel Moseley. Like Sutton, Moseley was thrust into action as a freshman last season, recording 19 tackles and six pass breakups (he was second on the team in that category), and he even spent some time playing with the first team late in the year as UT was compensating for injuries in the secondary.

Moseley has great speed and is known as a hard worker in practice, ensuring he’ll continue to develop his game as his career at Tennessee continues. Playing opposite Sutton, he’s sure to be picked on plenty throughout the season, which may cause some frustrations early in the season but will benefit Moseley and his Vols teammates by the meat of the SEC schedule.

Randolph and McNeil play perhaps the most important roles on the defense from the back end of the unit. Randolph, a rising senior, is the most experienced member of the secondary, and his impressive football IQ is sure to benefit the entire unit.

His ability to diagnose plays from the back of the defense, especially as UT scrambles to find answers at inside linebacker, will be invaluable this season. His abilities to make plays on the ball in the passing game (six interceptions the last two seasons) and on ball carriers (165 tackles the last two years) aren’t too shabby either.

McNeil provides consistency at the other safety position, and he, too, recorded more than 70 tackles last year in addition to logging the first multi-interception season of his career. He’ll be pushed by rising sophomore Todd Kelly Jr. for that starting job after Kelly shined last season to the tune of 33 tackles and three interceptions in a reserve role.

Those numbers indicate Kelly won’t be a reserve for much longer with both McNeil and Randolph entering their senior seasons in Knoxville.

The Vols greatest concern in the secondary is depth at the cornerback position. Rising sophomore Rashaan Gaulden and rising junior Malik Foreman will have opportunities to earn playing time in reserve roles. The concern is not so much lack of talent as it is a lack of collective experience from the guys listed above. However, with a full spring practice season and training camp lying ahead, there is time and opportunity for UT to build depth at cornerback.

So while names like Barnett, Maggitt, Tuttle and McKenzie will make Tennessee fans giddy, it’s the secondary — the unheralded contributors that keep the entire defense functioning — who stand to shine this fall.