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

Alabama’s secondary is one area in which you could pick multiple players. After all, the Crimson Tide have six interceptions on the year, and their secondary thrives in making big plays for Nick Saban’s 3-4 defense. They are a lot as a whole for Tennessee football to deal with, but we narrowed it down to three players: Trevon Diggs, Xavier McKinney and Patrick Surtain II.

McKinney is the all-around guy playing safety for the Tide. He has 47 tackles, a tackle for a loss, an interception, a pass deflection, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Surtain has been the big-play cornerback for the Tide in multiple ways. He’s forced two fumbles, deflected five passes and come away with an interception.

However, Diggs is the roughest matchup for the Vols. It’s not secret that both Jarrett Guarantano and Brian Maurer have had issues at avoiding interceptions this year. They have combined to throw eight. Diggs has two interceptions and is the key playmaker for the Tide in the secondary when it comes to pass defense.

As a result, he’s the top guy who could give UT trouble in coverage. Regardless of who’s starting at quarterback, Jeremy Pruitt and Jim Chaney have to do their best to make sure that Diggs is accounted for on every play. Otherwise, he could immediately break things open for Alabama, and it could happen earlier than you might think.