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Tennessee football vs. Florida: 5 Vols to watch for against Gators

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Darrin Kirkland Jr. #34 of the Tennessee Volunteers returns an interception for a touchdown during a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Darrin Kirkland Jr. #34 of the Tennessee Volunteers returns an interception for a touchdown during a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images /

I didn’t think I’d be saying this to start the year. Micah Abernathy struggled significantly last season, especially against this specific team in the fourth quarter. But this year, the Vols need their secondary to get the best of Feleipe Franks, who was responsible for torching Abernathy last year. And Abernathy has become the most critical guy back there.

Tennessee football is clearly going through a transition among defensive backs, and three weeks into the season, Pruitt is STILL alternating cornerbacks. Meanwhile, Nigel Warrior has the most talent, but like lots of players, the transition to the 3-4 has taken him a bit of time to learn.

Abernathy, though, as Pruitt noted Monday, has picked up the system more quickly than most. On top of that, he’s actually moving around from safety to cornerback. Because of that, he’s the most critical player in the Vols’ secondary right now, and that makes him the most critical player for Saturday’s game.

Remember that Franks has thrown two interceptions this year, and the Vols will need to do better than they did last week capitalizing on quarterback mistakes. They also need to do better than they did in the fourth quarter of last year’s game.

That will take the senior safety making an impact more than anybody else. If Abernathy can knock Franks off his rhythm, the Vols will have a great chance of pulling out the victory. But if he struggles, then this could be a long day. So watch out for what he does.

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