As we inch closer and closer to the Vols kicking off the season against UTC on Saturday, the fanbase's collective excitement is at a fever pitch. However, while many positions are spoken for on this roster there are a few that are still up in the air.

On Monday, Tennessee posted its first depth chart where the term “-or-” is listed a whopping 35 (THIRTY-FIVE!!!!) times. On one hand, some fans will take this as the coaches having no clue who will start yet, and no player has separated themselves in practice at these positions. However, in my eyes, this is a very good sign.

For the first time since Josh Heupel has been at Tennessee, he has a roster full of talent where competition at certain positions is inevitable. In the first three years of Heupel’s regime, many starting positions were spoken for months before fall camp simply because of the lack of depth behind the starting 22. Now that he has rebuilt the program fully and put the buffoonery of previous coaches behind him the talent is coming in at a rapid pace.

The position battles that stick out the most are TE’s, WR’s, and the entirety of the defensive front. In the TE room, there are 3 starting-caliber players in Ethan Davis, Holden Staes, and Miles Kitselman. Whoever takes the most snaps at TE will have damn well earned it, and all 3 of them will no doubt see the field. The WR room is more of the same. The projected starters there are Bru Mccoy, Squirrel White, and Dont’e Thornton. The depth in this room is insane as impact transfer Chris Brazzell, 5-star freshman Mike Matthews, and the 30 pounds bigger Chas Nimrod will all see the field this year. Finally, along a defensive front that projects to be one of the best in school history, the competition continues. There are honestly too many players to list in that room that will make an impact, but just trust me when I say there is no deeper position group on the team.

The only position group that might not have great depth will be at safety. Will Brooks and Andre Turrentine are the projected starters at the 2 safety spots and behind them are MTSU transfer Jakobe Thomas and redshirt junior Christian Charles. Come hell or high water Tim Banks always prefers to go with experience at the safety spot even when at times last year it could have been considered a detriment. All I can say for the safety spot is that if Brooks or Turrentine don’t pan out it will be very disappointing if they don’t give Boo Carter a shot. Carter for now is listed behind Christian Harrison at the STAR/nickel position, but if Harrison plays well and secures that spot for good they still need to find a way to get Carter on the field.

This is no doubt the most talented team Josh Heupel has had at Tennessee and in all reality the first depth chart is not very important. Josh Heupel has famously played his cards close to the vest with the media and the 35 instances of “-or-” on this initial depth chart just further prove that fact. All in all, I think Heupel just wants to keep the competition level high leading up to the first game, but on the other hand I think he and his staff do have more decisions than ever due to the talent that will be at their disposal in 2024.