5 Tennessee players to watch against Iowa football in Citrus Bowl

ORLANDO — The Tennessee football team Iowa will face in the Citrus Bowl will not quite be at full strength.

Tennessee running back Jaylen Wright, who racked up 1,013 rushing yards this season, opted out of the Citrus Bowl as he prepares for the NFL Draft.

Tennessee’s top defensive back, Kamal Hadden, had season-ending surgery in October. Eleven players left via the transfer portal, according to On3’s database.

Despite the many absences, sportsbooks continue to favor the Volunteers by a significant margin. (ESPN has Tennessee as an 8.5-point favorite, and FanDuel has Tennessee as a 7.5-point favorite.)

Here are five players to watch:

QB Joe Milton III

Tennessee’s Joe Milton III has an interesting connection to this year’s Iowa team.

Milton was teammates with injured Iowa quarterback Cade McNamara when they were both at Michigan. Milton arrived in 2018, and McNamara in 2019.

Milton began the 2020 season as Michigan’s starting quarterback, but Jim Harbaugh benched him in favor of McNamara during the Rutgers game. Milton transferred to Tennessee after the season.

Fast-forward to 2023, and Milton is having the best year of his collegiate career. He has completed about 65 percent of his passes while throwing 20 touchdowns and five interceptions.

He had a career-high 383 passing yards and four touchdowns in his most recent performance — Tennessee’s Nov. 25 win over Vanderbilt. Iowa’s defense likely will provide much more of a challenge, though, than a Vanderbilt defense that ranks 128th nationally in yards allowed per game.

LB Aaron Beasley

Aaron Beasley has been a veteran leader on the Tennessee defense.

The 6-foot-1 linebacker has appeared in 55 games after arriving in Knoxville in 2019. He has recorded at least 7.5 tackles for loss in three straight seasons.

His 11.5 tackles for loss this season is second-best on the Vols’ defense.

Beasley was on the Associated Press all-bowl team after Tennessee’s definitive 31-14 win over Clemson in last year’s Orange Bowl.

RB Dylan Sampson

With Wright opting out, Dylan Sampson could be a key weapon for the Tennessee offense.

Sampson, a 5-11 sophomore, showed flashes of potential at various points in the last two seasons.

He rushed for 139 yards — a career-high — on 11 carries earlier this year against UTSA. That worked out to an uber-efficient 12.6 yards per carry.

His previous career-high was 131 yards last year against Vanderbilt while averaging 10.9 yards per carry. He also had 76 yards while averaging 4.5 yards per carry this year against Kentucky.

Other times, Sampson has been much more quiet. This year’s Vanderbilt game is an example of that. He averaged only 3.7 yards per carry on 10 attempts against the Commodores.

The Baton Rouge, La., native is a former four-star recruit who had offers out of high school from South Carolina, Purdue, Duke, Louisville, Michigan State and others, according to his 247Sports profile.

DL James Pearce Jr.

James Pearce Jr. has been an elite pass rusher this season for the Vols.

Pearce, an all-SEC first-team selection by coaches and the AP, has a team-high 13 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. His 0.71 sacks per game are tied for 16th-best nationally.

He was the SEC’s defensive lineman of the week twice this season and earned midseason All-America recognition from ESPN.

Off the field, Pearce was arrested on traffic charges earlier this month after Knoxville police said he was driving 63 mph in a 35 mph zone. The charges were later dismissed, according to WHJL-TV.

WR Squirrel White

Squirrel White — his full name is actually Marquarius Malik “Squirrel” White — brings plenty of big-play potential at wide receiver.

He has surpassed the 100-yard mark three times, including against College Football Playoff-bound Alabama. He most notably had an 83-yard touchdown reception against UConn, and most of the yardage came after the catch.

White leads the Vols this season with 64 receptions and 764 receiving yards.

As for his nickname, White’s great grandmother gave it to him. He moved as an infant simultaneously with a squirrel in her garden, according to his Tennessee player bio.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com