Tennessee football: Top 10 SEC stars 2019 Vols have to account for
Despite his struggles in the national championship game last year and the fact that he got exposed as a guy who can fall apart when under pressure, Tua Tagovailoa is still the top player in the SEC. There’s not really a close second either.
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Tennessee football will struggle facing him once again this year, as will every team in the league provided he stays healthy. After all, he still did complete 69 percent of his passes for 3,966 yards and 43 touchdowns to only six interceptions.
Oh, he also had 190 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground. He didn’t throw a pick until the ninth game of the season. And against the Vols, he completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns. That was a below average performance for him, believe it or not.
Tagovailoa likely worked on his issues under pressure in the offseason, so if he shored up those weaknesses, he could potentially be unstoppable this year. Jeremy Pruitt is a defensive genius who specializes in defending the passing game, but a guy like Tagovailoa may still be too tough.
Although the goal for Tennessee football is to eventually get somewhat competitive with the Tide, Tagovailoa makes that almost impossible this year. Combine that with the game being in Tuscaloosa and the Vols still needing lots of help, and this game won’t likely be close. Tagovailoa could once again have a Heisman-like day against Rocky Top.