Tennessee football: 10 key areas of improvement for Vols during bye week

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: Quarterback Kai Locksley #1 of the UTEP Miners tries to avoid a tackle from Defensive back Micah Abernathy #22 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Linebacker Jonathan Kongbo #99 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the UTEP Miners and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-0. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /

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Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images /

10. Secondary needs to be more aggressive.

We noted in our positives surrounding the Vols to this point that the secondary has not been as bad as it could have been. After all, it’s well documented that Tennessee football was going to have major issues at defensive back going into the year.

They had to replace everybody in their two-deep rotation at cornerback, and they are undergoing a transition to a 3-4. That’s a brutal combination that was naturally going to make for disaster, so the secondary having issues is not a huge deal.

In fact, it hasn’t been nearly as bad as it could have been, which is why we rank this issue at No. 10. However, it is an issue. The Vols need more aggression from their secondary in lots of ways. This includes tackling more, being in better position to make plays and coming down with interceptions.

The last one is a big deal. Just last weekend, Nigel Warrior blew a chance at an interception, and there have been too many other times where quarterbacks were under duress but the secondary didn’t take advantage. This is what they have to do if the Vols are going to turn things around.

There are going to be lapses in coverage this year. But they can alleviate things by showing more aggression at times. Jeremy Pruitt knows this, which is probably why he’s using the more athletic freshmen like Bryce Thompson, Alontae Taylor and Trevon Flowers a lot of times back there.

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