KNOXVILLE - Jalen Reeves-Maybin isn't sure who will line up next to him at linebacker when Tennessee opens the 2015 season in 19 days.
The junior is also eager to see who emerges from the four-man competition to be the starting middle linebacker.
Though Kenny Bynum appears to be leading the race, the Volunteers have yet to settle on the starter there as freshman Darrin Kirkland, redshirt freshman Dillon Bates and walk-on Colton Jumper continue to push for playing time.
"I've been playing with Kenny Bynum a lot," Reeves-Maybin said Friday. "Me and Kenny have been here for three years together. I love Kenny. He's out there competing every day, working really hard. He's really smart, and he never messes up. He's always in position to make plays, and he gets the defense set. Everyone's confident with Kenny right there.
Former Baylor School standout Colton Jumper, a sophomore walk-on at Tennessee, is among those in the running for playing time at middle linebacker."There's been good competition with him and Colton Jumper, Darrin Kirkland, Bates. They all look pretty good. We'll see who comes out on top."
In Tennessee's open practice on Saturday night, Bynum took the field with the first-team defense, and Jumper, the former Baylor School standout, took the bulk of the second-team reps. Kirkland also got some work with the second-team defense. Bates sat out practice with an undisclosed injury.
On Friday, linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen said the Vols planned to trim the competition to two players soon.
The veteran Southeastern Conference assistant also said Tennessee is opting for smaller, faster linebackers who are able to handle facing up-tempo offenses, play in the open field and have the endurance to stay on the field for long drives.
Listed at 240 pounds, Cortez McDowell is the Vols' heaviest linebacker, and the four vying to start alongside Reeves-Maybin average roughly 226 pounds.
Bynum, whose value in the competition is his experience and knowledge of the defense, dropped 15 pounds over the summer months, and it has helped his speed and stamina.
"He's in shape," Thigpen said. "The myth is that you need to be big in there as a linebacker. Yeah, if you're playing Alabama and their 13 personnel, that makes sense. You want to be big and strong, but the thing about what you're seeing now is out of the 12 teams we'll play, probably 10 of them are going to be spread and tempo.
"You'd rather go in there (with a guy) that's fast and light and can play in space and have great endurance."
Reeves-Maybin said he's noticed more leadership and more confidence from Bynum this month.
"That's what you need from the Mike (middle) position," he said. "He's confident about everything. He'll tell people what to do. Going through spring practice to now, his confidence is just so much higher. He knows that he's the voice of the defense and he can get everybody straight, so everybody respects that."
Jumper may be a walk-on, but it's clear Tennessee's coaching staff likes him and believes he can help the defense.
"I love Colton," Reeves-Maybin said. "I actually knew about him in high school, because he's from Chattanooga. I always knew he was a good player. I was excited from the moment I heard he was coming. He's a baller. It don't matter if you're a walk-on, on scholarship, five-star, no-star. If you can play, you're going to get on the field."
The coaches are getting their first true look at Kirkland after he missed spring practice with a torn pectoral muscle, and they believe he has a bright future.
"He's still young and he still makes mistakes," Thigpen said. "For a young guy out there, he's probably one of the best I've seen, a guy that's able to fit in there and decipher information and get guys lined up. What you find a lot of times (is that) guys are thinking and then trying to react at the same time, and they look like they're out of place.
"You're pleased with Darrin because he can get guys lined up and he knows his responsibilities. He's still got to get his eye discipline right. But he's got all the tools to be a really good linebacker for us."
Bates' freshman season was cut short by a shoulder injury that has limited him some this offseason, but he has all the physical tools to help Tennessee at either the middle or outside spots.
"He's got everything you're looking for, because he's 6-foot-3, 233 pounds, probably a legit 4.6 kid (in the 40-yard dash)," Thigpen said. "He came back last year with a hurt shoulder, and I know that was tough, but he's come back this fall and had a pretty good camp."
Concerns at the position remain, and running backs were able to squirt through a gap to reach the second level of the defense during 11-on-11 work Saturday night.
"At some point," Thigpen said, "we'll start narrowing it down."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.