Curt Maggitt's Return to Tennessee Boosts Vols' 2015 SEC Title Shot

With this season's recruiting class nearly wrapped up, by far the biggest target Tennessee coach Butch Jones could land this offseason was one already leading his roster: rising senior defensive end Curt Maggitt.

On Thursday morning, Jones confirmed to GoVols247's Wes Rucker that the 6'3", 251-pound hybrid defensive end/linebacker would be returning for his final season in Knoxville, giving UT a pass-rushing duo capable of carrying it to an SEC East title.

"He'll be back with us," Jones said. "And, obviously, we're excited about that."

The Vols have every reason to be. Maggitt and freshman All-American Derek Barnett give UT one of the most fearsome pass rushes in the country, as the two had 21 sacks and 35.5 tackles for a loss between them this year.

Only Washington's Hau'oli Kikaha and Andrew Hudson (31.5), Utah's Nate Orchard and Hunter Dimick (30.5) and Missouri's Shane Ray and Markus Golden (23) combined for more sacks as a tandem, according to CFBStats.com.

UT is the only team returning both players from that list. Since pressuring the opposing quarterback is vital to a defense's success, this puts the Vols in an envious position heading into 2015.

Wade Payne/Associated Press

After Maggitt missed the final couple of games of the 2012 season and all of '13 recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, he steadily got healthier as this season progressed.

The healthier he got, the more dominant he was. By the end of his junior season, he was unblockable at times off the edge, racing Barnett to the quarterback.

Getting Maggitt back is huge on several levels. First of all, he's the vocal, emotional leader of a unit that has gotten better as he's gotten better.

Even when Maggitt's buddy and UT star middle linebacker A.J. Johnson was indefinitely suspended from the team, Maggitt still kept the group together.

Time and time again this season, Jones referred to Maggitt's leadership capabilities. Even during the '13 season when Maggitt was on the sideline, he was constantly cheering, teaching and hyping up his teammates.

With new star prospects coming in to stockpile talent on UT's defensive line of the future, such as Kyle Phillips, Darrell Taylor, Andrew Butcher and Marques Ford, they can be mentored by a player who leads by example and on the field.

Also, with LaTroy Lewis and Corey Vereen coming on at defensive end and linebacker Chris Weatherd showing flashes in some obvious pass-rushing situations, Maggitt's return allows UT to continue to have multiple options with their sets and personnel.

Now, all those players can still be used situationally, and Maggitt will return to try for a first-team All-SEC encore.

UT hasn't had an emotional spark plug like Maggitt for years. Having him around for another season will not only help bridge the gap while the new potential stars learn, but it will give them somebody to watch to see how it's done.

It's also huge for UT from a versatility standpoint.

Maggitt helped cover a lot of warts for a defense in 2014 that went from 84th to 37th nationally.

A key reason for Tennessee's success was the fact that D-line coach Steve Stripling led the unit to its most sacks since 2001, and Maggitt, who led the team in that category with 11, came at quarterbacks from different angles.

As a defensive end, Maggitt was the player who came into his UT career as a speedy outside linebacker and was hard to handle, especially once he got back into playing shape and adjusted to the speed of the game.

With the Vols short on outside linebackers, Maggitt sometimes stood up in traditional 4-3 sets. From the second level, he came at players like this:

Maggitt returning isn't shocking. He wasn't really on any of the draft big boards this year, and the best thing for him is to return, show NFL teams that he's completely healthy and can remain that way and play his way up the list.

But that doesn't matter; it's still huge news for the Vols. He's a great college player who appears to be primed for a big season, and with the questionable decisions some juniors are making these days, you never know until a player says he's coming back.

Much like how Johnson returned for his senior season to help Tennessee turn the corner and get back to a bowl game, Maggitt is going to be a big part of helping the program take the next step forward.

UT likely has huge aspirations in mind next year, such as competing for the East title and getting back to Atlanta for the first time since 2007. Maggitt returning as an elite pass-rusher and defensive leader is essential to the Vols shocking the league.

All recruiting information from 247Sports' composite rankings, unless otherwise noted. All statistics taken from CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter: @Brad_Shepard.