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

You can give credit to the offensive line, and they deserve it, but Najee Harris is turning into a star running back for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He has 75 carries for 451 yards, averaging over six yards a carry. Although he has just one touchdown on the ground, he’s added four receiving touchdowns and has 12 receptions for 123 yards on the year.

So Harris is a major playmaker. Tennessee football, meanwhile, finally saw its defensive line take the next step last week and get a necessary push up front against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. But the week before, against a Georgia Bulldogs team whose front is more comparable to Alabama’s, they were atrocious.

How well Harris plays could depend on which defensive line shows up for the Vols. Will it be the one that got 10 tackles for a loss and seven sacks last week or the one that left Jake Fromm’s jersey completely clean two weeks ago? We honestly don’t know, and if the line doesn’t show up, it’s over from the start.

If it does, Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley will still have to do some things schematically to control Harris. But they will have a much easier time doing it than if they don’t get any push. At that point, they will let the Tide run all over them. Still, even with a push, the inside linebackers, Daniel Bituli and Henry To’o To’o, have to step up as well. Otherwise, it will be worthless.