KNOXVILLE — Another key piece of Tennessee’s defense will be back next season.
Two days after linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin announced he would return for one more season instead of entering the NFL draft, cornerback Cameron Sutton did the same.
Sutton announced his decision on his Twitter account on Thursday afternoon.
“I would like to take the time to say that I feel privileged to be considered a possible 2016 NFL draft pick,” Sutton wrote. “I have always dreamed about one day playing in the NFL. I have always set goals in my life and have taken pride in achieving each and everyone of them.
“Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to discuss different options for the upcoming year with my family. During this process, I have decided that there are some team, academic, and personal goals that I would like to achieve before I take that next step.
“I would like to thank the University of Tennessee, my coaches, professors, teammates and the fans for always supporting me. I have had three of the best years of my life while being a student athlete at the University of Tennessee, and would like to continue that for one more year.”
Sutton has been listed as a first-round pick by some analysts, but he received a third-round grade from the NFL Draft Advisory Board.
In 2015 he finished with 28 tackles, three for loss, one interception and six pass breakups, and he returned two punts for touchdowns while leading the nation in punt return average.
He has started every game of his career since signing with the Vols in 2013.
Now Tennessee is awaiting word on whether running back Alvin Kamara will return. Underclassman have until Monday to enter the draft. Kamara, Sutton and Reeves-Maybin all sought their draft grades from the league’s advisory board.
This time a week ago the best-case scenario for Tennessee was keeping two of those three players, but now it’s likely all three will wind up returning.
The Vols could lose one player to the draft, though, with wide receiver Marquez North reportedly hiring an agent with intentions of going pro.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.