Tennessee football: Top 10 SEC stars 2019 Vols have to account for

It’s dangerous enough when the Alabama Crimson Tide don’t have an elite passing game. After all, Nick Saban’s defensive prowess and the elite big guys he recruits are usually enough to dominate teams in boring fashion. But now, he’s got elite skill players on offense as well, and it makes things even more dangerous.

This year, Jerry Jeudy is one of those guys. An All-American last year, Jeudy had 68 receptions for 1,315 yards and 14 touchdowns. He’s a dominant factor in Alabama’s offense, and the 6’1″ 192-pound junior will almost certainly add to his dominance this year.

Jeudy was solid against Tennessee football, catching five passes for 72 yards and a touchdown, but similar to D’Andre Swift and Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Jeremy Pruitt was able to hold him under his averages, even though it wasn’t really relevant. So that does speak to what Pruitt may be able to do in 2019.

When the Vols and Tide face off this year, though, Bryce Thompson on Jeudy could be the matchup of the season. Even if Alabama does win again in dominating fashion in Tuscaloosa, little one-on-one matchups like that make the development of the Vols as a program worth paying attention to. Nobody will have a more direct test than Thompson on Jeudy this year for Rocky Top.