There are several obvious candidates when it comes to which Tennessee football player will be missed the most from its Orange Bowl championship team of last season.
No quarterback in program history was more efficient than Hendon Hooker. Speedy receiver Jalin Hyatt was the first Volunteers player to earn the Biletnikoff Award. Right tackle Darnell Wright did not allow a sack in the final 19 games of his college career, while edge rusher Byron Young capped his productive two-year stint in Knoxville with two sacks against Clemson.
Vols defensive line coach Rodney Garner has someone else in mind.
"We've got to replace all the production that 'BY' gave us, but people don't realize how valuable LaTrell Bumphus was," Garner said Saturday in a news conference following Tennessee's fourth spring practice. "When we went back and looked at our cut-ups from the past season, he did a heck of a job for us. We've got to have a guy we can count on, because that guy did everything right."
The Vols will resume workouts Tuesday morning before practicing again Thursday and Saturday, with Saturday also serving as their first spring scrimmage.
Bumphus was a sixth-year senior defensive end last season who amassed 66 tackles and 12 tackles for loss in 55 career games that contained 24 starts. The 6-foot-3, 290-pounder played in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, which is not considered as prestigious as the Senior Bowl or the East-West Shrine Bowl, and he was not among the seven former Vols invited to the recent NFL combine.
Though Bumphus likely will have to take the free-agent route to make an NFL team in the months ahead, his absence is being felt.
"He strained and was selfless, and he played for the team," Garner said. "Even though we've got a lot of guys back, we've got a lot of production we've got to replace. We definitely have the body types that we are looking for. We just have to get going.
"We have to get the juices flowing, get the confidence going and get them the technique where they can get loose, let the hair down and let some personality come through."
Tennessee does have the numbers up front defensively, with Joshua Josephs, Roman Harrison and James Pearce vying to replace Young, and with Tyler Baron, Tyre West and Dominic Bailey battling to fill the void left by Bumphus. The Vols have promise in the interior with Omari Thomas, Elijah Simmons and Da'Jon Terry at the nose, and with Kurott Garland, Bryson Eason and Omarr Norman-Lott, a 6-3, 300-pounder transfer from Arizona State, at tackle.
Garner has been known to temper optimism this time of year but admits he has "plenty of good young men." He just wants some who can be leaders, too.
"It's something we're still trying to cultivate, because I can't say it's a strong suit right now," Garner said. "Omari Thomas is going to do everything the right way, but is he willing to grab the bull by the horn when that isn't really his personality? He does it by example, but we still need him to grow and become an even better leader. We still need for some other leaders to come on.
"You don't have to be a senior to be a leader. You can be a young guy and be a leader. It's just about you doing things the right way, and people know you're doing it the right way, and they're willing to listen and adhere to what you're saying."
Odds and ends
Garner on freshman edge rusher Caleb Herring: "I'm really excited about him. He really loves football. He's tough, has the length and has the skill set. I think he has a bright future." ... Thursday will also be Tennessee's pro day. ... Garner on Norman-Lott adjusting from his time with the Sun Devils: "They were doing more mirror-step on the line of scrimmage, where we want to be more vertical, create knock-back and all that."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.