Tennessee Football has completed four games of its eight-game SEC schedule before the bye week begins.

Since the volumes rest on the rest of conference play, I’ll give out superlatives up to this point.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

There’s not much doubt about who Tennessee’s best offensive player is this season. He is also the most important one.

Dylan Sampson is preparing for a year that will go down in the record books as he ran through nearly every defense he faced this season. He scored in all seven contests while rushing for over 100 yards in six contests.

So far, he has accumulated 838 yards with 17 rushing touchdowns – both the most in the SEC. He is only one point behind Gene McEver for the most in a single season in program history, with five games to go.

I think the question of MVP and best player for Tennessee’s defense has different answers. For me it’s the MVP Jermod McCoy while the best player remains James Pearce Jr. who is on his way to a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

What makes McCoy more valuable is the position he plays. With a completely revamped secondary, the Vols needed players to step up. McCoy fits the bill as he shut down some of the top receivers in the country and came up with a massive interception against them Alabama.

While Pearce may be better, he plays a position where the Vols have incredible depth with players like… Joshua Josephs And Caleb Herring.

Tennessee’s offensive line has been tough this year, but that’s hard to blame Andrej Karic for these fights. The starting left defender couldn’t fight his way out of the duel Ollie Lane for the starting job a year ago, although injuries didn’t help.

Now he has cemented the role and is doing quite well in it. According to PFF, he has an above-average grade of 65.5 this season. This includes a 69 mark in pass blocking and a 67 mark in run blocking.

He was only penalized three times and is credited with giving up just one sack in the win over the Tide.

The player who makes the biggest jump on the defensive side of the ball is Tire vests. The defensive end finished 2023 well but has emerged as a star for the Vols this year.

By taking over the starting role, West is making the most of his improved role. In just seven games, he has already surpassed his tackles for loss number from last season in 13 games. He also made his mark on sacks.

With his forced fumbles and ability to continually advance into the backfield, West was a force on one of the best defenses in the country.

When Bru McCoy went down in victory South Carolina Last year there were questions about what the rest of his career would look like. Even as this season approached, his training was limited as he worked his way back to the floor.

When McCoy exited the gate, he immediately showed no signs of rust. He opened the season against Chattanooga with six catches for 89 yards. Just last week he had his best performance of the season against the opponent in the win over Alabama with six catches for 80 yards.

Coming back from injury is impressive in itself, but he is one of them Nico Iamaleavas Hitting favorite destinations less than a year later is special.

Two of the Vols’ biggest defensive plays this season came from walk-on safeties Will Brooks. He was the receiver of the pick-six against which he could start the run NC State in Charlotte and intercepted Alabama last week at Neyland Stadium to secure the win.

Brooks has been quietly waiting for his chance to shine and has taken full advantage of it this year. After spending time in special forces for most of his career, he has become an integral part of the Vols’ defense.

So far, there have only been a few offensive transfers who have been on the field regularly for Tennessee. Between Chris Brazzell II, Lance Heard And Miles Kitselman I nod to Brazzell.

A big part of that is the catch he just made against Alabama for the winning points. On third down inside the red zone in the fourth quarter, he made a fantastic attempt to block Iamaleava’s pass.

He has plenty of room to grow, but Brazzell has been effective as a Z receiver for Tennessee and has only looked better since the start of the season.

As the team’s defensive MVP so far, McCoy’s choice for the best transfer is easy.

As a sophomore who played a somewhat limited role Oregon StateMcCoy played like one of the best cornerbacks in the country. This certainly put him on the NFL’s radar, even though he wasn’t eligible for the draft until after next season.

There are several transfers currently doing really well for Tennessee on defense, but McCoy currently leads the group.

The freshman class has had few representatives during SEC play so far Boo Carter got the most shine. He shared snaps Christian Harrison early in the year, but after Harrison’s injury he was on the field for most games.

Carter has slowly improved in pass coverage but was one of the elite blitz players early in his career. His improvements in the running game have also made him an extremely viable option as a true freshman.