Tennessee has settled into the coveted seat where a strong recruiting class from three years ago aligns with a crop of players who passed on the NFL. The 10 players below are the reason the Volunteers are, and will be, many pundits’ choice to win the SEC East.

Here are the 10 best Tennessee players coming out of spring.

10. Josh Smith

While he dealt with an injury this spring, Smith returns after he had 23 catches for 307 yards and two touchdowns last season. Smith started the final seven games last season. But what may be most memorable was his 39-yard touchdown against Georgia that launched a comeback from trailing 24-3.

https://twitter.com/rockytop_news/status/631153236343398400

9. Josh Malone

Expected to be a primary target in the passing game after he had 31 catches for 405 yards last season and two touchdowns. The highly regarded recruit has struggled with consistency and living up to lofty expectations. With 54 career catches, Malone leads a group of largely unproven receivers who suffered plenty of injuries in 2015.

8. Preston Williams

Perhaps the most talented of the receivers, Williams led the team with 22.5 yards per catch last season in eight games. He had seven catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns. The No. 3 wide receiver in his class, Williams dealt with a hamstring injury last year, but is expected to be a popular target for Joshua Dobbs.

7. Alvin Kamara

The backup running back is one of four permanent captains the team announced at the Orange and White Game. Kamara rushed for 698 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He also caught 34 passes for 291 yards, three touchdowns and also returned a punt for a touchdown. The leadership role shows how Kamara has matured since the formerly highly rated prospect in the 2013 class was arrested twice and suspended twice at Alabama before an eventual transfer.

6. Evan Berry

The nation’s top kick returner in 2015, Berry racked up All-American honors after he averaged 38.3 yards per kickoff, and he scored three times. His combined special teams return yards (804) were fourth-most in program history. His success will cause opponents to strategically kick away from him, but it also might expand his role in other areas of the field.

5. Cameron Sutton

For the fourth straight season, Sutton will be counted on as a top cornerback for the Volunteers. He had 28 tackles in 2015 along with an interception, two forced fumbles, three tackles for a loss and two punt returns for a touchdown. Sutton flirted with the NFL, but received mixed grades on which round he would be taken. He’s started every game of his career since signing with the Vols in 2013.

4. Jalen Reeves-Maybin

Perhaps the best of a strong linebacking corps, Reeves-Maybin had 105 tackles last season, which led the team, including 14 for a loss. He was second on the team with six sacks. He was also among the quartet named a permanent captain. While Butch Jones was light on details, it’s believed that Reeves-Maybin could be out until June with an undisclosed injury. But he was another in a long line of Vols that passed on the NFL after he started every game at linebacker as a sophomore and junior.

3. Derek Barnett

Barnett was tied for fourth in the SEC with 10 sacks last season along with 12.5 tackles for a loss. At Tennessee, Barnett was third on the team with 69 tackles. Barnett’s 20 career sacks also put him on a path toward Reggie White’s career mark of 32, a school record.

2. Jalen Hurd

Possibly the best running back in the SEC not named Leonard Fournette or Nick Chubb, Hurd last season was fourth in the SEC with 1,288 rushing yards along with 12 touchdowns. Butch Jones already said there’s no one better at Hurd at his position. The only challenge may be harnessing his workout regime. Hurd needs 892 yards to break Travis Henry’s career mark of 3,078 yards in his third season in Knoxville.

1. Joshua Dobbs

He is arguably the best quarterback in the SEC — certainly the SEC East. Dobbs, also named a permanent captain, passed for 2,291 yards last season and rushed for 671 for a combined 26 touchdowns. He was fourth in the SEC in 2015 in all-purpose yards per game at 227.8. He’ll try to replicate a stellar October this season after last year he collected 1,143 total yards.