Tennessee’s offensive line doesn’t look like one of the spots keeping Glen Elarbee up at night.
That’s the good news for the Volunteers as fall camp moves along. The only starter from last year’s group Tennessee lost was Lance Heard, and that was always expected with David Sanders projected to slide over to the left side. Around him, there’s no shortage of familiar faces or possible answers.
Wendell Moe, Sam Pendleton and Jesse Perry are back up front, and Elarbee has a batch of options fighting for the final starting spot. The line coach said the competition has been a real strength of this group.
“We definitely have options, I feel like,” Elarbee said this week. “But if I’m just sitting there and looking at every single one of them, this would definitely be one of the years that we’ve probably had the most competition and options, especially returning guys, guys we brought in, the young guys, developing. It’s like anything, if you have competition, I think it will end up making us better, period, for sure.”
One of the biggest pieces in the mix is Ory Williams, who Tennessee brought in from LSU as the expected right tackle. But Perry isn’t going anywhere quietly. He logged plenty of snaps at right tackle a season ago, and that experience gives Tennessee another possible route if the staff decides to shuffle things around.
That flexibility also ties into the battle at right guard, where Sham Umarov and Donovan Haslam are pushing for the job. If one of them locks it down, Perry could stay out at tackle. If not, Elarbee has more ways to arrange the pieces.
“I think what helps, you have some (options) at guard and tackle,” Elarbee said. “You always have Jesse (Perry) that can kind of do both, so he can balance the scales more with the other if you need it. But, yeah, at guard we’ve definitely got some good man-mover bodies.”
Haslam arrives with five starts from last season at West Virginia, while Umarov saw plenty of action as Tennessee worked through early injury issues with David Sanders last year. The depth chart doesn’t stop there, either.
Five-star true freshman Gabe Osenda has earned praise from Elarbee this week. Jeremias Heard is in the mix for tackle depth. Nic Moore has also been developing at center behind Pendleton.
With so many moving parts, Elarbee said the evaluation process is a constant one, especially in fall camp when everything is happening fast.
“Especially in fall camp, things are moving relatively quickly,” Elarbee said. “You try to take time on the off day and just go back.
And the first time you watch it, you’re correcting technique, effort, fundamentals. You’re trying to focus on who looks good, who doesn’t, at what side, what not.
But when we have passing time, that’s where I am, trying to watch them left side, right side, inside, outside. Who really is your best, best five?”
And the simplest reason this matters is that Tennessee won’t get through a nine-game SEC slate without needing everybody.
By the look of it, Elarbee may have more than enough to work with. The group could wind up nine or even ten deep, which gives Tennessee a lot more than just a starting five.
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