Tennessee football vs. Alabama: 10 keys for Vols and Crimson Tide

8. Tennessee secondary’s ability to keep making big plays

One of the things Jeremy Pruitt ranted about heading into SEC play was his team’s inability to get turnovers. It showed through the first two games, and the worst was the road game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia committed four fumbles, and the Vols didn’t recover any of them.

However, last week against the Auburn Tigers, they came to life. And these guys forced three turnovers. The amazing part is cornerbacks were in on all of them. Baylen Buchanan forced one by blitzing Jarrett Stidham. Then came the play of the two freshman.

Bryce Thompson got Tennessee football going by deflecting a pass to stop one drive and then making a key interception to set up the Vols’ first touchdown. In the second half, with the team up 20-17, Alontae Taylor then came through. After playing shutdown ball all day, he recovered a the strip-sack in the end zone for a touchdown.

Well, heading into this game, the Vols are going to need more of that. It’s clear that this secondary can still get burned at times. But they have major athletes at cornerback. The freshmen can cover a lot of ground, and Buchanan is a physical guy who can thrive at nickel. Nigel Warrior is coming around at safety as well, as he had a couple of huge hits Saturday.

But the real key is going to be Thompson and Taylor. These guys need to come away with interceptions and recover fumbles, because they are cornerbacks who know how to get to the ball. And as a result, they will be the guys key to creating turnovers, which is Tennessee football’s only chance to win. To allow them to do that, though, they need help from elsewhere, which is our next key.