Tennessee football: 10 Vols who did not benefit from 2019 spring practice
When Jordan Allen committed to Tennessee football, it seemed as if the Vols had another elite edge rusher in Jeremy Pruitt’s 3-4 scheme to wreak havoc. Pruitt, a defensive genius, wouldn’t miss on a four-star junior college transfer, would he?
Well, Allen barely played last year, despite the season-ending injury to Jonathan Kongbo, and was a part of transfer rumors this offseason. Then, when the spring game hit, he was on the second-team, behind Darrell Taylor and Deandre Johnson. He wasn’t able to squeeze into the rotation anywhere at linebacker or defensive end.
Now, to be fair, Allen pulled a bit of a Jaylen McCullough and had two sacks in the spring game. That’s why we have him way down here and not higher up. However, McCullough had his two interceptions as a freshman with the second team.
Allen, meanwhile, is a redshirt junior and a veteran. He should be finding his way into the rotation somehow. Another bad thing for him is he’s already used up his redshirt. The one bit of good news outside of his spring performance, though, is that Taylor is a senior. So Allen still could be third in the outside linebacker rotation and have a year to play. But time’s running out.