Tennessee football: Is Bryce Thompson or Alontae Taylor Vols top CB?

As Jeremy Pruitt enters his second season with Tennessee football, the Volunteers have two elite sophomore cornerbacks. But who’s the top guy?

On the surface, the answer to this question seems easy. Bryce Thompson was a freshman All-American for Tennessee football last year at cornerback, playing every game and starting 10 en route to three interceptions, four tackles for a loss, a sack, a forced fumble, four passes defended and 32 total tackles.

However, Alontae Taylor’s season was nothing to sniff at for a freshman. He played in all 12 games with nine starts While he had only two passes defended, only one tackle for a loss and no interceptions, he did have more tackles overall than Thompson with 40, and he had two forced fumbles, not just one.

Finally, Taylor had a defensive touchdown and blocked a punt. So he actually came away with a couple of splash stats on his own, things that also prop him up. Simply put, the question is not as easy as it seems at first glance.

While Thompson’s standard numbers were better as a freshman for a cornerback, Taylor was better in certain ways. It’s also worth noting that Taylor didn’t have as much of a chance to get in rhythm, as he was ejected twice for targeting calls last year.

So is there any chance that Taylor overtakes Thompson this year? Again, Taylor showed flashes of how great he can be. And while Thompson stands at 5’11” 181 pounds, Taylor does bring a bit more size at 6’0″ 193 pounds, which could allow him to be more physical and cover bigger receivers. That may end up being a big deal.

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Jeremy Pruitt is a defensive backs guru, so he’ll know which player to lean on more heavily. However, that answer is not as clear to the rest of us right now despite Thompson making a slightly bigger splash his freshman year.