A quick glance at a list of the top five players Tennessee will miss from the 2014 football roster offers a head-turning revelation.

Former Tennessee All-SEC linebacker A.J. Johnson (Photo: Adam Lau, Knoxville News Sentinel)

With no disrespect aimed at these players — who were good players and good leaders —Â the Vols aren’t losing a ton heading into the 2015 season.

———————————————

Punter Matt Darr: There’s certainly an argument to be made that nickel and cornerback Justin Coleman could have had this spot, but the Vols have recruited well in the secondary and have more options there than at punter heading into 2015. Tennessee has U.S. Army All-American Tommy Townsend on track to enroll this summer, and returning walk-ons Trevor Daniel and Troy Waites are capable players, Darr turned into a very, very good punter as a senior. He, like predecessor Michael Palardy, saved his best for last at the college level and finally lived up to the hype that surrounded him when he was the nation’s top-ranked punter prospect as a high school senior.

———————————————

Offensive tackle Jacob Gilliam: There aren’t just sentimental reasons for putting Gilliam on this list, though the former walk-on earned all sorts of emotional sentiment for playing through a torn ACL (and then a busted hand in the bowl game) as a fifth-year senior in 2014. Gilliam also was the Vols’ best offensive tackle last season, despite having only one healthy leg. Tennessee has much more quality and depth at center and guard than at tackle, and they’ll be fortunate to replace Gilliam with a player who performed as well he did in 2014. Tennessee’s best hope is that highly touted 2014 junior college signee Dontavius Blair capitalizes on his redshirt season and lives up this potential in 2015.

———————————————

Middle linebacker A.J. Johnson: Johnson’s absence for the final few games of 2014 left a crater in the middle of Tennessee’s defense. There’s no other way to put that. He was missed. Badly. And he’ll be missed in 2015, as well. If the Vols find someone who can perform half as well as Johnson did throughout much of his career, they’ll be happy. It’s not that Johnson was a perfect player. He wasn’t. He had some weaknesses in pass coverage and struggled in space earlier in his career. But three-time All-SEC middle linebackers are guys you’re going to miss. Badly. Tennessee has some linebacker talent coming through the ranks, so this situation doesn’t have to be a bad one going forward. It’ll just be difficult to find someone as productive as Johnson, who was one of the most productive defenders in program history.

———————————————

Former Tennessee defensive tackle Jordan Williams (Photo: Knoxville News Sentinel)

Defensive tackle Jordan Williams: One of the more underrated components of Tennessee’s 2014 defense and one of the more unselfish players the program has produced in the past few years, Williams will be missed in several areas. The former linebacker and defensive end bulked up to play defensive tackle later in his career, and he injected plenty of athleticism and leadership into that position group. He did what he was asked to do, and he did it well. He occupied blockers and found ways to free up space for his linebackers, and he made a few plays for himself along the way. Perhaps the Vols won’t miss Williams from a pure talent perspective in the long run —Â good luck finding a defensive line recruiting class better than Tennessee’s in 2015 — but he shouldn’t be discounted on that front, and he’ll definitely be missed as a team leader. He was one of this staff’s favorite players for a reason. Everyone loved Jordan Williams. He’ll be missed.

———————————————

Quarterback Justin Worley: Say what you will about Worley. He wasn’t that mobile. He wasn’t that accurate with the deep ball. He wasn’t as dynamic as Joshua Dobbs. All of those things are true. But don’t for a second assume that Tennessee won’t miss Worley. His maturity, toughness, reliability and leadership were staples of the program, and at times the Vols played good football with him running the ship. Ask anyone in the Tennessee program what they think of Worley, and you’ll realize how much they’ll miss him going forward. Worley wasn’t dealt the best hand in his career —Â he didn’t have much experience around him, he should have been redshirted twice and he played through pain before finally having to say “uncle” his final two seasons —Â but he handled all of it with dignity and class. He showed many of his younger teammates how to handle adversity and continue going about their business like an adult. The Tennessee program will miss him.

———————————————

Others: Defensive back Justin Coleman, running back Marlin Lane.

———————————————

Contact Wes Rucker BY EMAIL at wesrucker247@gmail.com, or ON TWITTER or ON FACEBOOK