Nico Iamaleava takes over: Tennessee's highly touted redshirt freshman quarterback is now the Vols' unquestioned starter and has full control of the offense. He'll get a chance to put that control on display in week 1 after impressing in his first career start in the Citrus Bowl in January.

New-look STAR position: The STAR position seemed shored up heading into fall camp before projected starter Jourdan Thomas went down with a season-ending injury. The coaching staff has seemingly turned to Christian Harrison and freshman Boo Carter, who will both likely rotate at the position on Saturday.

Bru McCoy’s return: Saturday will mark the first game that Bru McCoy has played in in nearly a year after suffering a season-ending knee injury early last season. Coaches and teammates praised his approach to rehab in the offseason and will now get on the field to begin what is expected to be a productive season.

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Run game reps: Tennessee's opener sets up as an opportunity for valuable reps for its running backs room. An injury to Cam Seldon last spring allowed DeSean Bishop and Khalifa Keith to get more run in the offense in camp. Dylan Sampson is the headliner of the group and with Seldon cleared for contact and freshman Peyton Lewis also back after an injury, the coaches may have the luxury to go deep in the room rack up real-game reps.

Flexing depth: Coaches raved about Tennessee's depth on both sides of the ball during fall camp and will have the chance to flex it against Chattanooga. The Vols are deep along the defensive line, particularly at LEO behind James Pearce Jr. while they can also rotate plenty at wide receiver on offense.

Healthy linebacking corps: No position was hit harder by injuries for Tennessee last season than at linebacker. BYU transfer Keenan Pili was supposed to be an experienced compliment to Aaron Beasley but went down with an injury in week 1 and missed the rest of the season. He's back to full health, along with Arion Carter who also missed the last five games after promising start to his freshman season.