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

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 07: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide throws the ball against the Clemson Tigers during the third quarter in the College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium on January 07, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 07: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide throws the ball against the Clemson Tigers during the third quarter in the College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium on January 07, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images /

Tennessee football has suffered back to back 50-17 loss to the Missouri Tigers, and the scary thing for them is Albert Okwuegbunam did not play in either game because of injury. Okwuegbunam has had trouble staying healthy throughout his first two years with Mizzou.

However, when he has been able to play, he has been a major force. In just nine games his freshman year, he had 29 receptions for 415 yards and an amazing 11 touchdowns. He followed that up with 43 receptions for 466 yards and six touchdowns his sophomore year, again while only playing in nine games.

This year, with Kelly Bryant coming in to replace Drew Lock, Barry Odom and Derek Dooley will likely turn to Okwuegbunam to make him their biggest target. The 6’5″ 255-pound junior is a already a star, and he could turn into a superstar this year. If the Vols can’t hold Mizzou under 50 points when he’s not playing, they could be in big trouble for when he is playing.

As a result, Jeremy Pruitt and Jim Chaney will need to be able to match them blow for blow offensively if Okwuegbunam actually makes it into the game this year. Their only chance otherwise is for Missouri’s offense to have a major drop-off under Bryant.