Tennessee football: Midseason awards for 2019 Vols

Most Improved Player

Theo Jackson; Defensive back

Junior; 6’2″ 190 pounds; Nashville, Tenn.

This was a bit of a surprise. Trevon Flowers, who was supposed to start ahead of Theo Jackson at safety alongside Nigel Warrior, would have had a better chance to become the Most Improved Player at the beginning of the year. However, the two shared time, and Jackson has been a very solid player for Tennessee football.

As a safety through six games this year, he already has 37 tackles, more than the 28 he had through 22 games his first two years. Meanwhile, he has one tackle for a loss, as many as he had last year. And he had the first interception of his career against the Florida Gators on the road. Add in his three pass deflections, and he has been a stud for the Vols so far.

Again, this is all as he splits time with Flowers. Now, though, Flowers has sadly suffered a season-ending injury. But the secondary, which Jackson already had a hand in making look like a solid unit early on, is improving dramatically. The return of Bryce Thompson at cornerback and even Daniel Bituli at linebacker to take pressure off of Warrior in the run game is helping.

So now Jackson is about to see lots more playing time in a much-improved unit. As a result, he has a chance to continue this award and carry it to the end of the year, building on it to make it an indisputable recognition. It’s not as clear that he belongs on the list right now, as there aren’t a ton of dramatically improved players from last year so far. But Jackson has stood out.