JA'MARR CHASE OPTS OUT

Reigning Biletnikoff Award winner, Ja'Marr Chase has decided to opt-out of the 2020 season and prepare for the NFL. The loss of Chase will make the defending National Champs WR group a little thin. Terrance Marshall will be the obvious #1 and will likely have a monster year. However, behind Marshall will be a lot of question marks.

Outside of Marshall, the returning group has only accounted for 25 catches for 433 yards and 3 TD. A group that is normally loaded with talent may look a bit different in 2020. Terrance Marshall will be the only returning 5 star, with the next highest-rated returning being rising SO Trey Palmer who had just 1 catch in 5 games as a Freshman.

In steps the incoming freshman Kayshon Boutte and TE Arik Gilbert, both of whom are very highly touted and extremely athletic. Boutte, a track star in high school, will likely need to have a large role in the offense now with Chase opting out. At just 6'0"180, Boutte may struggle to make an impact immediately in the SEC as a freshman but the talent is there. Arik Gilbert has reportedly been taking snaps at both TE and WR which shows just how athletic the #1 TE in the freshman class is. He will be a day 1 starter and his role will absolutely have to increase now.

AUGUST 31TH UPDATE

Defensive Tackle, Tyler Shelvin, has not also joined Chase in opting out. This will leave the Tigers with just one veteran DT in Siaki Ika who will presumably step into the starting role. Ika played in 11 games last year and has plenty of experience, therefore the starting lineup will be just fine in terms of experience but the depth at the position will now be an issue. Following Ika will be two highly touted incoming freshman Jaquelin Roy and Jacobian Guillory. They should definitely be expected to rotate in much more now with the departure of Shelvin.