Five for '15
* Tennessee's most important games of upcoming season* Possible second-year surgers for Tennessee Vols* Tennessee's non-freshman impact newcomers * Tennessee Vols' impact freshmen * UT Vols' most intriguing camp competitions * Tennessee's most valuable players
KNOXVILLE -- With the Tennessee Volunteers nearing the start of preseason football practice next week, the Times Free Press is setting the stage for a much-anticipated 2015 season with a "Five for '15" preview series, which continues today with a look at some non-freshman newcomers who could have major impacts this season.
1. OC MIKE DEBORD
No, the "Five for '15" series isn't exclusive to players, especially when there's a new assistant coach on staff for the first time in Butch Jones's tenure as Tennessee's head coach.
You could excuse the fan base if they're nervous at the thought of a new coordinator taking over before a crucial season. The last two times it happened - with Dave Clawson in 2008 and Sal Sunseri in 2012 - the Vols had losing seasons that ended in head-coaching changes. Both of those coordinators, though, were overhauling the offensive or defensive schemes.
That's not the case with DeBord, who last called plays in a college football game in 2007 at Michigan.
One of the primary reasons Jones turned to DeBord, his former boss at Central Michigan, was because he wanted to keep relatively the same offense he'd run with Mike Bajakian in all eight of his seasons as a head coach. The Vols want to run an up-tempo, run-first spread offense. DeBord will make some tweaks, but there won't be an overhaul.
The early returns on the 59-year-old's impact were positive during spring practice, but DeBord, who's happy with the players at his disposal, won't be judged until the season.
Tennessee running backs Alvin Kamara (6) and Jalen Hurd (1) celebrate after Kamara's touchdown during the NCAA college football team's Orange & White game at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, April 25, 2015, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Adam Lau/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)2. ALVIN KAMARA
First things first: It's pronounced "Ka-MARE-uh."
Of course, if the former Alabama freshman has the impact many in the program believe he'll have this season, his name will be pronounced correctly pretty quickly.
Tennessee badly needed to shorten the drop-off behind Jalen Hurd, but Kamara is more than just a second fiddle. The Vols plan to use both backs in some packages. His speed and elusiveness shone through in spring practice, but he also showed he can get the tough yards with his 5-foot-11, 195-pound frame and can catch the ball out of the backfield, too.
Kamara had a bumpy ride at Alabama, and a year away at junior college showed him how good he had it at a big-time SEC program. He's admitted that his path has helped him mature, and he impressed teammates and coaches with his work ethic and drive after arriving on campus. All signs are pointing to Kamara being the biggest piece of Tennessee's 2015 class.
3. CB JUSTIN MARTIN
The 6-2, 173-pound Nashville native appeared headed to LSU before defensive coordinator John Chavis left for Texas A&M, allowing Tennessee to swoop in and land the junior college transfer.
The former four-star prospect played at Overton High School before landing at Northeast Oklahoma A&M, where he had 24 tackles and three pass break-ups and returned kickoffs in nine games last season.
Martin should shore up depth at cornerback, where the Vols believe they have a strong trio of Cameron Sutton, Emmanuel Moseley and Rashaan Gaulden, who's poised to take over the nickel spot. Martin has enough talent to push Moseley for a starting spot opposite Sutton. Moseley played well the latter half of last season, though, so Martin will have to impress.
4. RB RALPH DAVID ABERNATHY IV
When healthy, Hurd and Kamara will get nearly all of the plays at running back, but it should be interesting to see how the Vols use the 5-7, 161-pound Cincinnati transfer.
Abernathy, whose younger brother, Micah, is a freshman cornerback, played for Coach Jones in 2011 and 2012. As a sophomore, he ran 69 times for 366 yards and three touchdowns and caught 28 passes for 341 yards and four scores. He also returned kickoffs for the Bearcats.
The elder Abernathy, who missed all but two games last season due to injury, has the speed and versatility to carve out a role in Tennessee's offense, which may use him on speed sweeps, shovel passes and screens in an effort to get the ball in his hands and let him stress the edge of opposing defenses.
5. P NATE RENFRO
With Trevor Daniel performing the best among a group of walk-ons during spring practice and touted freshman Tommy Townsend set to arrive in the summer, Tennessee felt it needed to work the transfer market to find another potential punter.
Enter Renfro, the Brentwood native who was Maryland's punter the past three seasons. With the Terrapins, Renfro averaged 39.7 yards on 75 punts in 2012, 40.8 yards on 75 punts in 2013 and 41.5 yards on 84 boots last season. Maryland finished just 103rd nationally in net punting, though.
The Vols made impressive strides in special teams last season and finished 36th in the country in net punting, and Renfro will have to turn his advantage of being older and more experienced than the other two punters vying for the position into consistency to win the job in August.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.