KNOXVILLE - Tennessee's two-year hiatus from the NFL draft will end in the final weekend in April, and the Volunteers could return to the annual three-day event in a big way.
While the Southeastern Conference had 105 picks the past two drafts, Tennessee, which prides itself on producing NFL players, did not have a single one, and the dry spell was a problem Butch Jones and the Vols have dealt with in recruiting.
Since the season-ending Music City Bowl win, three Vols - All-America defensive end Derek Barnett, running back Alvin Kamara and wide receiver Josh Malone - announced they were skipping their senior seasons to enter the draft.
Tennessee is in line to have as many as five players taken, led by Barnett, a projected first-round pick.
"I really wasn't looking that far ahead," Barnett said last week, "but I told myself as soon as I go to UT, I'm going to give it all I've got and just play hard every play and make an impact and be a difference maker. I told myself if I did that, everything else would take care of itself, and I'm just lucky to be in this position I'm in right now. I'm grateful."
The Vols haven't produced a first-round draft pick since Ja'Wuan James was selected 19th overall by the Miami Dolphins in 2014 to become the program's 45th first-round pick.
Barnett almost certainly will be No. 46 after a three-year college career in which he totaled a program-record 33 sacks and became Tennessee's first All-American since Eric Berry in 2009.
Jones and the Vols knew Barnett was a special talent shortly after he arrived on campus in 2014.
"I still remember the early stages of training camp his freshman year," Jones recalled last week. "I still have the video saved and I actually save it for my video clips for my clinics. It was a ball on the opposite side of the field, and he took the proper pursuit angle and outran the entire defense and offense to get to the football.
"Just the way he played the game with relentless effort, I knew we had something there that was going to make for something very, very special."
After James, Tennessee had two players (Kansas City's Zach Fulton and Pittsburgh's Daniel McCullers) taken in the draft following Jones' first season, but both were recruited to Knoxville by predecessor Derek Dooley.
Though the Vols didn't have any players drafted the past two seasons, some of the program's undrafted free agents quickly had success in the NFL. Defensive back Justin Coleman was a starter as a rookie for the New England Patriots, and Matt Darr won Miami's punting job. Tight end Alex Ellis and linebacker Curt Maggitt made impacts as rookies this season.
All of those players arrived at Tennessee before Jones, whose first signing class includes three seniors who could be drafted: cornerback Cameron Sutton, linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin and quarterback Josh Dobbs.
Sutton, projected as a mid-round pick, and Dobbs, projected as a fringe draft prospect whose stock is rising after a strong finish to his senior season, will represent Tennessee at the Senior Bowl later this month.
Reeves-Maybin also could go in the middle rounds, though two shoulder surgeries in 2016 could hurt his positioning. Tennessee's leading tackler in 2014 and 2015 isn't 100 percent healthy yet, but he's resumed training for the NFL combine. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper ranks Reeves-Maybin among his top 10 outside linebacker prospects.
Kamara could work himself into the third round, while Malone is projected to go in the later rounds.
Other seniors, such as tight end Jason Croom and defensive end Corey Vereen, will spend the next couple of months training for the draft in hopes of hearing their names called.
After watching idly by as rivals Florida (15), Alabama (14) and Georgia (10) produced double-digit NFL picks the past two years, Tennessee will welcome a busy draft weekend filled with multiple picks.
"That's a byproduct of recruiting talent," Jones said. "It's a byproduct of development. I'm very excited for those kids. We didn't have very many draft choices, and now it's something that we can point to in recruiting.
"You come to the University of Tennessee and you come to play at the highest level, and you graduate and you get your degree and you go on to the National Football League. I'm excited for those individuals, but it does help in terms of player development and helping a young man reach toward his dreams of playing on Sundays."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.