Tennessee football at Auburn: 5 Vols to watch for vs. Tigers

One of the key reasons for Gus Malzahn’s offense stalling this year has been Jarrett Stidham’s immobility. He’s not meant to run this offense, particularly without the key offensive linemen that Auburn lost to the NFL, most notably Braden Smith.

As a result, Auburn has given up 13 sacks on the year and is proving itself to be super vulnerable. So, naturally, this is where Kyle Phillips comes in. One of the veterans on this defense, Phillips has only one sack on the year.

However, the guy does have 16 tackles. And with the defense improving, he’s finding ways to make impacts. This is where he needs to have a breakout game. Auburn has been getting rocked by defensive linemen, particularly defensive ends, throughout the season.

Those are who have the majority of their sacks. Although Darrell Taylor has been the splash player for Tennessee football when it comes to that, and although Jonathan Kongbo is the star on the other end whom we are still waiting on to break out, Phillips is the one who needs to play that role Saturday.

This is purely a match-up thing, but we know Phillips has the talent to do it as well. As a senior in a new system, Auburn could be the game midway through the year where he breaks out and reaches that five-star potential he once had.