Looking at the bright side of the Tennessee Vols' lack of stars heading into 2018

John Adams | Knoxville

The preseason All-SEC team was depressing to Tennessee fans. It was offensive lineman Trey Smith and nobody else.

But there is a bright side to not having many stars. You do not have as much to lose.

UT Vols: Tennessee football practice, Aug. 21 Here are scenes from Tuesday’s Tennessee Vols practice.

Alabama and Georgia are exceptions, of course, because of their sensational recruiting. But most SEC teams would suffer significantly if they lost one of their best players.

That is especially true in the SEC East.

Let’s contrast Tennessee’s situation with other SEC East teams (not counting defending conference champion Georgia, which is in a league of its own).

Missouri, Vanderbilt, Kentucky can't afford to lose stars

Imagine if Missouri lost All-SEC quarterback Drew Lock. The Tigers became so desperate at the possibility he might leave early for the pros, they hired Derek Dooley, an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys, to implement a pro-style offense.

Missouri senior QB Drew Lock on Derek Dooley Missouri senior quarterback Drew Lock tells the media what he expects from working with new offensive coordinator Derek Dooley.

The message to Lock: “If you stick around for another year, we'll get you ready for the pros.”

Missouri’s backup quarterback is Micah Wilson, whose college experience consists of 10 passes and five completions. The Tigers experimented him with wide receiver in the spring.

Imagine if Vanderbilt lost quarterback Kyle Shurmur. The Commodores might be in worse shape than Missouri. Deuce Wallace, who was supposed to be Shurmur’s backup this season, has been suspended for the season for violating school policy.

Kyle Shurmur steps into leading role at Vanderbilt Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur was one of the young guys in the SEC. This season, he's a junior with experience.

Kentucky does not have a star quarterback. It does not even know who its starting quarterback is. The Wildcats do have first-team All-SEC running back Benny Snell Jr.

Georgia and Alabama might could lose its leading running back and plug in someone else with little drop-off. Kentucky isn’t Alabama or Georgia. Its offense without Snell would bear no resemblance to its offense with Snell.

UK RB Benny Snell welcoming a leadership role Star UK running back Benny Snell knows the attention is on him, especially with Stephen Johnson gone.

South Carolina’s offense will not be as dependent on Deebo Samuel as Kentucky’s offense will be on Snell. But when the Gamecocks lost their big-play wide receiver to an early season injury, the impact was immediate and severe.

Their offense should be more balanced this season, but it would not be nearly as dynamic without Samuel, who will be the focus of every opposing defensive game plan.

South Carolina also would be hard-pressed to replace quarterback Jake Bentley. The backup is Michael Scarnecchia, a senior who has thrown only one college pass. What does that tell you?

Who are most difficult to replace Vols?

Aside from Smith, who should be a dominant blocker at either guard or tackle, sophomore running back Ty Chandler might be the most difficult player to replace on Tennessee’s offense. The Vols apparently don’t have another running back with Chandler’s breakaway ability.

But despite Chandler’s potential, which he demonstrated last season as a backup, he has yet to prove himself as his team’s principal ball-carrier.

Lock, Bentley, Shurmur and Georgia’s Jake Fromm all clearly rank ahead of Jarrett Guarantano, UT’s returning starter at quarterback. But while Tennessee looks no better than mediocre at the position, the Vols are the only team in the division with three quarterbacks who have started at least one game.

Sophomore Will McBride started a game last season when Guarantano was injured. More significantly, Stanford graduate transfer Keller Chryst has an 11-2 record as a starter.

That is a reminder that Tennessee at least has backup power at quarterback.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

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