Tennessee football: Five BYU Cougars to watch for against Vols

Zayne Anderson is a 6’2″ 215-pound fifth-year senior who is destined to give Tennessee football hell this weekend. He’s the perfect type of player for Kalani Sitake, who is a defensive specialist despite being the BYU Cougars’ head coach, similar to Jeremy Pruitt. And he is almost certainly going to be a lot to handle this weekend.

Despite being listed as a linebacker, Anderson can play cornerback, safety or linebacker. He is great in coverage and at getting physical. Last week, he had seven tackles, assisted in a tackle for a loss and had a pass defended. In just four games last year, he had a sack, an interception, a pass defended and 36 tackles.

His last full season starting is the telling one for how great he is. In 2017, Anderson had 61 tackles, two interceptions, a pass defended, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He was more of a coverage guy his first three years, but with him now moving more to be a physical run stopper in addition to a coverage guy, few players are more dangerous.

Against the Utah Utes, Anderson showed he was back. Now he faces a team that has massive issues on the offensive line and struggles to pick up blitzes. Given those facts, he could have a field day at Neyland Stadium under the lights Saturday evening. Pruitt and Jim Chaney need to watch for him at all times.