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

5. Awareness of Tennessee inside linebackers

As we talk about Alabama’s passing game and where Tennessee football can exploit a weakness there, you’ll notice it took three slides to exploit one weakness. What you forget about is the fact that the Crimson Tide also have an elite running game.

Their balance is incredible and impossible to stop. Najee Harris and Damien Harris together are deadly, and the team as a whole is averaging over five yards a carry and over 200 yards a game on the ground. That’s incredibly when you consider this being a pass-happy offense now.

So, even if the Vols can get pressure and force mistakes from Tua Tagovailoa that nobody has forced all year, they then have to find a way to stop the run. And this is where positioning for the Vols’ inside linebackers comes into play.

We know that, should they get this pressure, it means their defensive line is getting the push necessary. The next step to stopping the run is for Daniel Bituli and Darrin Kirkland Jr. along with Quart’e Sapp and Will Ignont to close the gaps. If they can’t do that, and it will be insanely difficult to do it, they have no shot, and it doesn’t matter what type of pressure the other guys put on.

It also doesn’t matter how the defensive backs make plays. Tennessee football has got to have its inside linebackers close the gaps and stay in position. That’s one of the most difficult parts of a 3-4 transition, but these guys have picked it up more quickly than usual. Maybe they can even further develop on it this week.