Tennessee football at Alabama: Five Vols to watch for against Crimson Tide

He finally came alive last week against the Mississippi State Bulldogs and returned to the player we remember from last year. Darrell Taylor finished the game with two sacks and a forced fumble, and Tennessee football’s best playmaker on defense showed that he’s ready to once again be the explosive guy everybody has been waiting to see.

This isn’t about the weaknesses of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Nick Saban’s team has allowed only seven sacks on the year. It’s more about what Taylor getting a pass rush would do for the Vols. We saw last year how Tua Tagovailoa can struggle when being faced with pressure, and Taylor is the guy who could cause some.

Last week’s performance has Taylor’s numbers up to three sacks, four tackles for a loss, three quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on the season. Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley are great at dialing up blitz packages to confuse quarterbacks. They need to find ways to get Taylor involved in that in this game.

In their blowout loss to Alabama last year, the Vols did have a defensive touchdown thanks to the pressure they got up front on a play. Taylor could help them do that again. In fact, if they do have a repeat, he will be the reason it happens. So that makes him a crucial player on this list, even if the Tide don’t allow sacks.