While the departures of Hendon Hooker, Jalin Hyatt, Darnell Wright, Cedric Tillman and Byron Young have headlined the offseason, two other key pieces have ran out of eligibility with Tennessee football.
Kicker Chase McGrath and punter Paxton Brooks were consistent pieces of the Vols' special teams units as veterans.
By years end, McGrath had finished 16-for-20 on field goals with a long of 51. This included the 40-yard boot that put Tennessee over Alabama in the streak-snapping win.
Brooks also had a stand out career that resulted in a semifinal finish for the William V. Campbell Trophy and an invite to the NFL Combine.
However, now, two new faces will man the majority of the kicking duties. Indiana transfer Charles Campbell is Tennessee's place kicker and Australian-born redshirt freshman Jackson Ross will cover the punting duties.
For Campbell, the graduate transfer is returning home to end his college career. The kicker is from Jackson, Tenn. and has had plenty of family attend the state's flagship university.
Although he has experience kicking in Knoxville, he has still had to spend time learning the intricacies of kicking in a stadium as big as Neyland. While the Big10 features massive venues, his previous home ground sat just over half as many fans as the Vols'.
This adjustment hasn't been an issue, though. If anything, the task has been fun for him.
"I love kicking in Neyland," said Campbell. "It's a great place to kick. It's super fun. You can go in there and you get to look around the big ol' stadium. It's super fun. I like it. The uprights are the same distance they are in Neyland as they are on the practice field."
Campbell isn't the only new piece of the kicking unit, though. While long snapper Matthew Salansky returns, there will be a new holder in the operation.
This comes in the form of Ross. Despite having limited experience holding due to his upbringing, he has taken on the challenge as the team's punter.
Through repetitions, he feels he is getting the hang of it, though.
"I've been holding a lot through spring and fall camp," said Ross. "Back in Australia, obviously I never played American football so I never held a ball until I went to ProKick...
"When you get here you need to be ready to hold. It's just the punter's job sometimes, some teams have quarterbacks obviously. I think I've improved that hugely. Kicking and holding with Charles (Campbell). Just doing reps is all we can do really with that. He knows how I'm going to hold the ball and I know how he wants me to hold the ball. I think we've got a great bond now with snapper and all that."
Ross has also had to get used to kicking in an American football system. While ProKick in Australia set him up for success, there is still a difference once arriving on campus.
There is nothing holding back Ross at this point, though. He is confident and prepared to step into the big hole Brooks left a season ago.
While the kicking assignments feature different members this year, there shouldn't be much, if any, drop off within the unit. However, in Josh Heupel's dream situation, just extra points and kick-offs will be needed.
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