Tennessee football has completed four matches of its eight-game SEC slate as it hits the bye week.

As the Vols rest for the remainder of conference play, I give out superlatives up to this point.

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There isn't much of a question on who Tennessee's best offensive player is this season. He's also the most important.

Dylan Sampson is putting together a year that will go down in the record books as he's ran through just about every defense he's faced this season. He's scored in all seven contests while rushing for over 100 yards in six.

So far, he's accumulated 838 yards with 17 rushing touchdowns — both the most in the SEC. He sits just one score behind Gene McEver for the most in a single-season in program history with five games to go.

I think the question of MVP and best player has different answers for Tennessee's defense. To me, the MVP is Jermod McCoy while the best player remains James Pearce Jr. who is on his way to a first-round selection in the upcoming NFL draft.

What makes McCoy more valuable is the position he plays. With a completely retooled secondary, the Vols needed players to step up. McCoy has fit the bill as he's shut down some of the top receivers in the country and came up with a massive interception against Alabama.

While Pearce may be better, he plays a position where the Vols boast an incredible amount of depth with the likes of Joshua Josephs and Caleb Herring.

Tennessee's offensive line has been rough this year, but it's tough to blame Andrej Karic for these struggles. The starting left guard couldn't out-duel Ollie Lane for the starting job a year ago with injuries being no help.

Now, he's cemented the role and is playing pretty well in it. According to PFF, he owns an above average 65.5 grade on the season. This includes a 69 mark in pass blocking and 67 in run blocking.

He's been penalized just three times and is credited with giving up just one sack during the win over the Tide.

The player to take the biggest jump on the defensive side of the ball is Tyre West. The defensive end finished 2023 well but has transformed into a star for the Vols this year.

Taking over the starting duties, West is making the most of his improved role. In just seven games, he's already surpassed his tackles for loss number from last season throughout 13 games. He has also tied his mark for sacks.

Adding a forced fumble and ability to consistently get into the backfield, West has been a force on one of the best defensive lines in the country.

When Bru McCoy went down in the win over South Carolina last year, there were questions about what the rest of his career would look like. Even as this season loomed, he was limited in practices as he worked his way back to the floor.

Immediately out of the gates, McCoy showed no sign of rust. He opened up the season against Chattanooga with six catches for 89 yards. Just this past week, he put together his best performance of the season given the opponent with six catches for 80 yards in the win over Alabama.

Coming back from his injury his impressive in its own right but being one of Nico Iamaleava's favorite targets less than a year later is special.

Two of the Vols' biggest defensive plays of the season have come from walk-on safety Will Brooks. He was the recipient of the pick-six to start the run against NC State in Charlotte and intercepted Alabama to seal the win inside Neyland Stadium last week.

Brooks has quietly waited for his chance to shine and has taken full advantage this year. After spending time on special teams units for most of his career, he's become a consistent piece of the Vols' defnese.

There's only been a few offensive transfers to see the field for Tennessee on a consistent basis so far. Between Chris Brazzell II, Lance Heard and Miles Kitselman I'll give the nod to Brazzell.

A big part of this is the catch he just made against Alabama to put up the winning points. On third down inside the red zone, he made a fantastic effort to reel in Iamaleava's pass in the fourth quarter.

He has plenty of room to grow, but Brazzell has been effective as the Z receiver for Tennessee and has only looked improved since the start of the season.

As the team's defensive MVP up to this point, McCoy makes an easy choice for best transfer.

As just a sophomore who played a somewhat limited role at Oregon State, McCoy has played like one of the top corners in the country. This certainly has put him on NFL radars, as well, despite not being draft eligible until after next season.

There's multiple transfers playing really well for Tennessee on defense right now but McCoy tops the group at this point.

The freshman class has only had a few representatives during SEC play but Boo Carter has gotten the most shine. He split snaps with Christian Harrison to begin the year but after Harrison's injury, he's been on the field for the majority of games.

Carter has slowly improved in pass coverage but has been elite as a blitzer early in his career. Stepping up in the run game, as well, has also made him an extremely viable option as a true freshman.

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