Former Vols take part in NFL Combine

The NFL Combine is underway at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and Tennessee football has already been well represented.

Seven former Vols are present in quarterback Hendon Hooker, wide receivers Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt, offensive lineman Darnell Wright, defensive end Byron Young, linebacker Jeremy Banks and punter/kicker Paxton Brooks.

All seven players were key contributors during Tennessee's 11-win campaign in 2022, which included wins over LSU, Alabama and Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

Young and Banks already had their opportunity to show off their skills in front of scouts, taking the field on Thursday for measurements and workouts.

Here is how they performed.

At 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, Young impressed in his on field workout, particularly with his speed.

He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, finishing second among edge rushers. His 10-second split tied for eighth at 1.62 seconds. He clocked 7.19 seconds in the three-cone drill for the fourth spot.

Young turned in a vertical and broad jump of 38 inches and 11 feet, respectively.

Per NFL.com, his 6.15 draft grade makes him a "good backup with the potential to develop into a starter."

NFL.com Scouting Report: "An explosive edge defender with disruptive play qualities, Young is still in the process of learning how to play his position. His rush hands lack skill and he's missing go-to counters, but that could be coachable for him. He creates chaos when using his twitchy first step to slant and twist but still need to tune up the stack-and-shed technique and build out a cohesive rush approach. He will be a 25-year-old rookie with a lack of polish for his age, which could be a deterrent for some teams, but a fully fueled motor and strong desire to make plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage give him a shot to become a capable pro."

Banks ran his 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds and the 10-second split in 1.56 seconds. In the three-cone drill, he finished fourth out of five with 7.27 seconds and 4.38 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle.

He reached 37.5 inches in the vertical jump and covered 10 feet, 7 inches in the broad jump.

Banks' prospect grade on NFL.com is 5.94, cited as a potential backup or special teamer at the next level.

NFL.com Scouting Report: "Inside linebacker who makes up for being slightly undersized with physicality. Banks' instincts and recognition improved in 2022, but he can still get better in those areas. He plays with below-average short-area twitch and just modest pursuit speed from sideline to sideline but will hit and wrap what is in front of him. He's a likely two-down backup who might come off the field on passing downs but run back out for special teams reps."

Tennessee's skill players as well as Wright will have their chance to impress scouts this weekend.

Hooker, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear against South Carolina in November, will not participate in the on-field workouts, although he told reporters Friday that he will be able to throw standing up as early as next week.

“I have to slow myself down a little bit, but doc is telling me he’s very proud of how hard I’ve worked to get my quad strength and quad girth back to where it is now, especially from where it started," Hooker said. "I went from being on crutches for six weeks to walking the next week that I got off my crutches to being able to do one-leg sit-to-stands. I’m excited to really get back to putting a lot of weight on my lower body. I’m really top-heavy right now, but when I can finally put that weight back on my lower body, I can get to where I want to be weight-wise.

"Today I was 219 (pounds), that’s usually my regular weight if I wasn’t working out or doing anything crazy.”

Tillman is also coming off of a season that was riddled by injuries, but he will go through workouts with the rest of the receivers on Saturday.

After turning a breakout season in 2021, Tillman appeared in just six games this past season after a high ankle sprain in the Vols' third game of the season against Akron.

Despite undergoing "tight rope" surgery for an earlier return to the field, Tillman's contributions were limited the rest of the season though he did admit Friday that he was "about 80%" healthy when he returned to the field versus Kentucky.

“(Being able to play) meant a lot, just because getting injured wasn’t in the plan, wasn’t in my plans,” Tillman said. “I knew all the hours committed I spent trying to get back on the field. Even if it wasn’t 100%, I knew I went through a lot, so just being able to be out there, even if it was just one or two catches, it meant a lot to me.”

Hyatt was among the headliners at Friday's press conference, justifiably touting his abilities following a record-breaking final season at Tennessee.

Hyatt caught 67 passes for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns on his way to winning the Biletnikoff Award and setting a number of program records in the process, including single season touchdown receptions.

He didn't hesitate Friday when asked who he thought the No. 1 receiver in the upcoming draft class was.

"Jalin Daveon Hyatt. Definitely No. 1," Hyatt said.

Hyatt has good reason to be confident in that statement. He proved as much going up against SEC secondaries, including Alabama which he put up five touchdowns against in the Vols' memorable 52-49 win in October.

What has impressed scouts is his speed, which he will be able to show off in Saturday's work outs.

“I’ll say I’m dynamic,” Hyatt continued. “I’ll say, just because y’all can say he’s a vertical guy, one-trick pony, he does this and that – I do a lot more things than that. I can run routes. That comes easy to me. I can catch the ball. I have a good catch radius. I have long arms. Catch everything with my hands. Consistent. Not only that, you go look at the games last year, dig and dive down and actually get in the film, I feel like I’m unstoppable.

"I feel like nobody can guard me. I feel like they fear me when I get out there. I’ll definitely say I’m WR1.”

*****

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @JNichols_2121, @ByNoahTaylor, @TylerIvens, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.