Tennessee Football: Ranking Vols' Best Performers from 2014 Regular Season

If Tennessee surges into future SEC championship consideration under head coach Butch Jones, the 2014 team is going to be remembered as the one that got the Volunteers started.

The Vols finished the regular season 6-6 and are (finally) headed to a bowl game after a three-season hiatus. They used a mixture of revitalized upperclassmen, resurgent freshmen and a jolt from a late-season star to get there.

From players nobody expected to do much stepping up—looking at you, LaDarrell McNeil and Justin Coleman, even though you aren't on the list—to freshmen who played expanded roles and emerged as stars, UT had plenty of heroes.

This ranking of the top players for UT this year is based on statistics, performances at key moments, impact on the team and consistency throughout the season.

It was a fun (and frustrating) regular season. Unlike the past few campaigns, there are plenty of reasons to hope for the future and a firm foundation on which to build it. Jones and this team did just enough to change the trajectory of the program.

If they win a bowl game, it's hard to look at this year as anything but a total success.

Let's take a look at the Vols' 10 best players from the 2014 season.

10. Jordan Williams, Defensive Tackle

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This slot could have gone to any number of players, but the pick here is senior defensive tackle Jordan Williams.

He's one of those vagabond journeymen players who have sacrificed much of their career to play wherever the team needs them the most. Not long ago under the tutelage of one-year defensive coordinator disaster Sal Sunseri, Williams was a 240-pound outside linebacker.

This year, as a senior, he was a 6'5", 284-pound undersized defensive tackle who was forced to play a large number of snaps for much of the season. That's due to Owen Williams battling injuries in what, at times, was a two-man position on the interior.

Time and time again Williams writhed in pain on the field, but he always got up and started the next game. He finished with 25 tackles, two sacks, four tackles for a loss and four pass breakups in 12 starts.

Though the numbers are pedestrian, his value wasn't. UT coach Butch Jones told the Chattanooga Times Free Press' Patrick Brown:

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As a senior you either play your best football, or your worst football. There's never any in between, and that's the life of a senior. Jordan Williams has definitely played his best football. We've asked so much of him from adding the additional weight, from changing his position from the defensive end to the defensive tackle spot, and he's handled it exceptionally. He's really grown into a team leader, and our players respect him.

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He was an extremely vital part of the defense, along with O'Brien, and they both had flashes of brilliance. Williams gets the nod because he's a senior.

He had a really good final season on the Hill.

9. Brian Randolph, Safety

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Junior safety Brian Randolph probably won't ever be an All-SEC performer, and there are some things he doesn't excel at, but he's consistently solid.

The worry from UT's coaching staff was clear when the junior from Marietta, Georgia, was lost for the first half of the Missouri game following a targeting call against Kentucky.

He makes all the calls on the back end and led UT's secondary to a resounding rebound year where the Vols wound up ranking fifth in the league in pass defense.

His sophomore season in 2013 may have been more prolific from an interceptions standpoint, but he was strong this year across the board. He ranked third on the team with 86 tackles and also had two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Though he wasn't the fearsome hitter that LaDarrell McNeil turned out to be and didn't make the "Wow" plays of Todd Kelly Jr., he kept a bottle on big plays and rarely made mistakes. Without him, the Vols defense wouldn't have been as good.

8. A.J. Johnson, Middle Linebacker

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Before A.J. Johnson's season and life spun upside down due to being suspended along with UT cornerback Michael Williams in regard to a sexual assault investigation, he was on his way to an All-American season.

Even after missing the regular-season's final two games, he still led UT in tackles by 13, finishing with 101. He also had nine tackles for a loss, two sacks, an interception, five quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick.

Not to mention he was the Vols' emotional leader and heading toward a career that would make him a legend.

Now with this cloud lingering over him, all that is up in the air. But what isn't in question is what he meant to UT on the football field. Still, he wasn't around at the end of the season, and so he free-falls in these rankings.

The Vols inserted true freshman Jakob Johnson against Mizzou and Vanderbilt, and he made nowhere near the impact. A.J. Johnson's 10- to 12-tackle performances turned into two and three tackles for the younger Johnson.

Had he played the entire season, A.J. was a top-two player on this team. As it turns out, the uncertainty surrounding his alleged incident left UT high and dry at an important time. Hopefully, a thorough investigation will find out the truth soon, one way or another.

7. Alton "Pig" Howard, Wide Receiver

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Pig Howard is the Brian Randolph of the offense: He isn't flashy, but he just gets the job done.

Back in the spring, nobody was sure whether the junior from Orlando would even be a part of the team. As it turned out, he was the most consistent force in a wide receiving corps that was riddled with injuries.

When Von Pearson was hobbled for the middle part of the season, Howard was targeted more. With Marquez North and Josh Smith lost with season-ending injuries, he became the catalyst for the corps.

Not only that, but a player who was flaky as late as this summer emerged as a leader prior to that Vanderbilt game. According to GoVols247's Wes Rucker (subscription required), Howard said:

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I just stayed vocal, told the younger guys that was playing in their shoes what they needed to do. I just said, 'No matter what, don’t be complacent now that you're just starting. Work hard.' Even at practice, I've tried to push myself through the threshold when I'm tired, 'cause I know some guys they may go to me a lot. I try to continue to just perfect my craft and just be vocal for the younger guys.

We had a lot of guys that went down, and a lot of guys that stepped up. I think all around, we're still learning things on and off the field as far as timing with some of the new receivers. We had a couple of guys go down on the O-line, as well.

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He finished the regular season with a team-high 52 catches for 589 yards and a touchdown. He added 72 rushing yards and two more scores and was second on the team in all-purpose yards.

When Joshua Dobbs needs a safety valve, he looks for his reliable upperclassman in the middle of the field. Not only has Howard had a great comeback year, but it's been a great season all around.

6. Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Outside Linebacker

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Way back in spring practice, Jalen Reeves-Maybin was starting his sophomore season struggling to put on weight and to stay big and physical enough to be an every-down outside linebacker.

A season ago, he was a safety and special teams dynamo for the Vols.

Then, he emerged at the end of the summer as a 230-pound specimen, and the sophomore's season took off. Teaming with A.J. Johnson for most of the year, JRM was a heat-seeking missile who blew up plays in the backfield, chased runners trying to get the edge and was a force up the middle of the field as well.

He had the kind of leap forward that leads you to believe he could be an all-conference player in the mold of Jerod Mayo or Rico McCoy before his career on Rocky Top is over.

The Clarksville native finished second on the team with 88 tackles and third with 10 tackles for a loss and added a pair of sacks and an interception. He was a steady, consistent force who made impact plays all over the field.

That tackle number is even more impressive considering he shared the field most of the season with tackle-gobbler Johnson. JRM is currently ranked eighth in the league with 7.3 tackles per game.

He seems destined to be UT's next great linebacker and have a long career at the next level.

5. Joshua Dobbs, Quarterback

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Simply put, the Tennessee Vols wouldn't be going to a bowl game without Joshua Dobbs. That's why he's this high despite playing in only five games.

Yes, he is unpolished. No, he isn't the most accurate quarterback in the world, and he doesn't always make the right decisions. But when Justin Worley was lost for the season against Ole Miss, many worried UT's season was over.

Instead, Dobbs not only started (following a forgettable interlude by Nathan Peterman) but sparked the Vols to a memorable comeback against South Carolina, where UT trailed by two touchdowns with three minutes to play. Then, he was dynamic in hanging 50 points on Kentucky.

Even while he was continually punished to the tune of eight sacks in the final two games against Missouri and Vanderbilt, he had his bright moments. With Jalen Hurd injured against the Commodores, Butch Jones put the entire offense on Dobbs' shoulders, and he did enough to pull UT through.

He was the best running back and quarterback on the field.

The Tennessean's David Climer noted just how vital Dobbs became to the offense:

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In Tennessee's 24-17 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday night, Vols quarterback Josh Dobbs ran or threw on 41 of UT's 65 offensive plays—63.1 percent…

Since taking over as UT's No. 1 quarterback in the first half of the Alabama game on Oct. 25, Dobbs has shouldered an uncommon amount of the Vols' offense. Of UT's 377 snaps since he entered the Alabama game, Dobbs has run or thrown on 247 of the plays – 65.5 percent.

In other words, he is either running it or throwing it on virtually two out of every three plays. Since the Vols converted from the single-wing to the T-formation in 1964, no other player has assumed such a dominant role in the offense.

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Jones doesn't trust Dobbs with the whole playbook yet, but he has a month to improve before the bowl game and two years left in Knoxville. He has all the tools to be special, and his glimpses this year were enough to put him this high on the list.

4. Curt Maggitt, Defensive End

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How's this for a rebound?

After missing all of the 2013 season and the final few games of '12 due to tearing knee ligaments against Missouri, junior emotional leader Curt Maggitt switched positions to defensive end.

Though he got off to a bit of a slow start as he re-acclimated to the speed of the game, he wound up with a team-high 11 sacks (good enough for third in the league). His 14 tackles for a loss were second to Derek Barnett and fifth in the SEC.

By the end of the season, few offensive linemen could keep him from the quarterback.

No play was bigger than his first-down sack of Dylan Thompson on South Carolina's first overtime play that set the stage for a missed field goal and a UT win. His season surged even more after that, as he teamed with Barnett to form one of the best pass-rushing duos in the nation.

Now, a season that started amid a cloud of question marks has just one remaining: Has he done enough to enter the NFL draft, or will he return for his senior season in Knoxville?

If he follows in the footsteps of his buddy, A.J. Johnson, he'll be back, and another year will allow him to prove to the pros that he truly has no lingering effects of the injury and can be a dominant force at the next level.

He's the leader of UT's resurgent defense, and he's a player every offense must account for on every play. Maggitt is definitely legit.

3. Jalen Hurd, Running Back

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Every once in a while, a team will have a special player who makes those around him better, seems to rise to the occasion, improves as the game (and season) wears on and lives up to expectations, no matter how high.

Jalen Hurd is one of those players.

It was extremely difficult to pick him over Maggitt in this spot, but Hurd was vital to Tennessee's offense all season. When he was hurt and unable to go, UT suffered in a huge way.

As a freshman, the 6'3", 227-pound star was thrust into the starting lineup almost immediately, and he responded. Even early in the year when senior Marlin Lane would take the first snap, Hurd would finish the game with the most snaps.

He leads the team in all-purpose yardage with 994 yards to go along with five touchdowns. He has proved to be a strong receiver out of the backfield, can grind out the tough yards between the tackles and make defenders miss in space.

Said GoVols247's Wes Rucker (subscription required):

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Hurd has been anything but the "soft and terrible" he was called off-camera by a USC coach on National Signing Day. He has been ferocious. He has been a beast of burden. He has, time and time again, made 4-yard runs look impressive, because they should have been stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage. And he’s done most of that with a banged-up shoulder that’s forced him to practice in a no-contact jersey during the week.

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Considering his numbers came behind an offensive line that was historically horrible, they're even more impressive.

Most importantly, he made the play of UT's season when he took a screen pass, broke two tackles and rumbled 21 yards for a must-have touchdown on a fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter against South Carolina.

When the Vols needed a play, they went to Hurd. That will be a familiar refrain for the next few years.

2. Cameron Sutton, Cornerback

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Sophomore cornerback Cameron Sutton is so good, folks around Knoxville are already calling him "Sunday," anticipating a no-doubt NFL career for the Jonesboro, Georgia, native.

When he's on the field, you can pretty much bet he's going to shut down an entire side of it.

The only game where he really struggled at times was against Alabama's Amari Cooper (and, truth be told, who didn't?).

Though it seemed as if Sutton was all over the field for the Vols, he ranked just eighth on the team in tackles, which is a testament of how few times opponents threw in his direction. He had four tackles for loss, three interceptions, 11 breakups and 14 total passes defended.

Vernon Hargreaves III may get all the headlines, but Sutton was among the top two cornerbacks in the league this year along with Ole Miss' Senquez Golson.

He's a big (6'1", 190 pounds), silky smooth student of the game who has ideal mechanics for the position. He has a textbook pivot, and he has gotten to the point where he can consistently bait quarterbacks.

He's a can't-miss talent, and he should be under heavy consideration for All-SEC honors.

1. Derek Barnett, Defensive End

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Late, great Hall of Fame Georgia announcer Larry Munson's call of Herschel Walker barreling over UT's Bill Bates in 1980 for a touchdown rang throughout college history with the words, "My God, a freshman!"

Those same words can be uttered when watching 6'3", 267-pound first-year defensive end Derek Barnett.

He's something special. Of all the great defensive linemen the Vols have had over the years, Barnett is head and shoulders the best. It's not hyperbole to say Barnett's 2014 season is among the best ever for any freshman defensive lineman.

Not only should he be considered for all-conference honors, he deserves to be in the conversation for All-America honors, too. Barnett finished fourth in the SEC in sacks but tied for the lead with Missouri's Shane Ray with 20.5 tackles for a loss. That number is third nationally.

Though fellow freshman Myles Garrett of Texas A&M had more sacks than Barnett (11 to 10), Barnett's came against better competition. All of his sacks came versus the SEC, whereas eight of Garrett's 11 came against nonconference foes.

Barnett is the better player and had the better year. The crazy thing is even though the Brentwood product was a 4-star player on 247Sports, he was just ranked as the No. 13 strong-side defensive end nationally.

When 247Sports' Barton Simmons (subscription required) re-ranked the class of 2014 prospects last week, Barnett was fourth on the list. Predictably, Garrett was rated higher (second), though he shouldn't have been.

Regardless, UT wouldn't trade Barnett for anyone, and the Vols have him for at least another two years. After that, he'll be dominating in the NFL. This year, he was UT's MVP.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats gathered from UTSports.com or 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.