Free Safety
1. Trevon Flowers
Sophomore, 5’11” 189 pounds
Trevon Flowers was thrown to the wolves immediately in Tennessee football’s opener last year against the West Virginia Mountaineers. He had to face an air raid offense led by an elite quarterback in Will Grier as a true freshman on a defense still learning how to play in the 3-4. Then Flowers got hurt.
However, Flowers showed a ton of potential when he was in last year. He is the perfect type of free safety, and it’s worth noting he could have been flirting with a five-star rating instead of the three-star rating he got as a recruit in the 2018 class if he had just gone to more football camps instead of playing baseball in the spring in high school.
This year, Flowers appears to have the free safety position locked up. He stood out and made the first team defense in the spring, and his play last year has earned him this starting role. So with Micah Abernathy and Todd Kelly Jr. gone, it’s time for Flowers to take over.
2. Theo Jackson
Junior, 6’2″ 197 pounds
Honestly, Theo Jackson could be a backup free safety or strong safety. He’s basically the third safety in the rotation. However, with Nigel Warrior’s durability, Jackson is more needed at free safety to back up Flowers, who is less proven and also has already suffered injury issues in one season on Rocky Top.
Jackson will be a very valuable backup, and he’s good enough to start if necessary. Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley have the perfect third safety to work with here, so keep an eye on if he ends up making the rotation.