Tennessee’s regular season is now complete. Winning 10 games before bowl season for the 1st time since 2003 is quite the accomplishment for this team.

Now, it’ll be up to coach Josh Heupel and his coaching staff to bring in the right players to keep the Vols in this position.

Tennessee is in good shape for 2023 with what is currently the 11th-best recruiting class according to 247Sports. But the transfer portal also could fill some holes.

Let’s take a look at Tennessee’s most pressing needs in that area.

Secondary

Yes, this is a position of need. Big time.

The Vols allowed an average of 287 passing yards a game in 2022, 127th in the nation. Only Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee, East Carolina and Ohio were worse in that category. They also gave up 21 passing TDs.

The best player in the Tennessee secondary was Trevon Flowers, who won’t be back in 2023. He finished 2nd on the squad in tackles with 57 and also had 2 interceptions.

Tennessee’s defensive backs were their worst unit in 2021 as well. An infusion of talent in the secondary is a must.

Tight end

The Vols rely on their tight ends a good deal. Princeton Fant, a 6th-year senior, had 20 catches (with 3 TDs), 5 rushing TDs and even threw a TD pass. Redshirt senior Jacob Warren had 12 catches this season. Both players also were vital in the run game with their blocking assignments.

Redshirt junior Hunter Salmon is the only other tight end on the roster to catch a pass in 2022, with a grab against Akron and another against Vanderbilt.

Fant and Warren each participated in Senior Day. They’ll be missed. This is a position that Heupel needs to reinforce.

Wide receiver

Tennessee’s wide receiving corps was spectacular in 2022. Jalin Hyatt was a cheat code.

Bru McCoy made huge plays. Ramel Keyton emerged as a player to be reckoned with. Cedric Tillman, one of Tennessee’s best receivers the previous season, was limited due to injury.

The good news for Heupel is that McCoy and Keyton are expected to return. But Tillman will be gone and depending on the grade for Hyatt from NFL scouts, he might not return for 2023 either.

Squirrel White and Walker Merrill got important snaps this season, but the Vols could use another experienced pass catcher.

Offensive Line

The Vols offensive line was average nationally in terms of sacks allowed, giving up just less than 2 a game. But otherwise this was a group of achievers.

They were a major reason why Tennessee had the top ranked offense in all of college football. The Vols averaged 538.1 yards and scored 47.3 points a game, tops in both categories. They also rushed for 205 yards a game, 19th best.

The bad news for Heupel is that tackle Darnell Wright and guard Jerome Carvin will depart after being honored on Senior Day.

The Vols had all juniors and seniors on the offensive line in their 1st and 2nd units. Transfers might help the depth up front.

Defensive Line

Byron Young had a long and unique journey to Tennessee, which included working as an assistant manager at a Dollar General store in Georgia and then junior college ball. But once he got to Knoxville he proved that it was worth all the effort.

Young collected a team high 5 sacks and 10 tackles for a loss this season. Unfortunately for the Vols, he wont be on their defensive line in 2023, nor will they have defensive end LaTrell Bumphus, who had 21 tackles.

Young was a transfer, but finding another transfer that can put up the type of numbers he did is going to be tough to do.