Tennessee football: 10 players to watch in Vols 2019 spring game

Tennessee football has tons of returning guys who played sporadically last year and are now looking to take that next step. Others simply suffered from the dramatic change in schemes and needed an extra year.

Nigel Warrior is one of those guys. This isn’t to say Warrior was bad last year. But he’s one of the most consistent and reliable players on the team, and the son of Dale Carter Jr. was supposed to break out into a splash player his junior year. It didn’t happen.

Safety is a tough position to learn when you’re switching to a 3-4 defense, and it’s even harder when you have to compensate for lack of experience at cornerback. The Vols have proven returning cornerbacks this year, though, and Warrior has had a year in the system. As a result, he should be able to thrive his senior year.

The Vols will need Warrior in a big way, too. Their defensive line is likely to suffer a big drop-off, and that makes it crucial for safeties like Warrior to get physical. See how much of a splash he makes in the spring game due to this. If he can find ways to be all over the field, that will be an encouraging sign for the defense when the Fall arrives.