Tennessee football: 10 Vols who did not benefit from 2019 spring practice

Tennessee football returned pretty much its entire secondary except for the second safety spot. However, three guys are gone from there, and that left the second safety spot and nickel spot up for grabs.

Bryce Thompson and Alontae Taylor have locked off starting cornerback slots, and Nigel Warrior has locked up the other safety spot. Shamburger, Baylen Buchanan, Theo Jackson and Trevon Flowers would be in contention for the other two spots.

Well, Buchanan, Jackson and Flowers all were on the first-team defense in the Orange and White game. Shamburger was second-team. That’s not a good look, and it was only made worse when Jaylen McCullough, a freshman, outshined him in the game on his own side with the second team by getting two interceptions.

Shamburger’s not in the worst shape because he could just be the backup nickel, and Buchanan does graduate after this year. But as a junior, it’s pretty clear he would have liked to be in a better position after spring ball.

A great recruiting class in the secondary with five newcomers only makes it hard, and Deangelo Gibbs could be in the hunt as well. So he’s going to have a bit of a rough time trying to see the field this year.