Tennessee football Week 13 awards watch: 15 Vols for 2019 postseason recognition

Freshman All-SEC

Lots of freshmen have made an impact for Tennessee football on defense this year. Warren Burrell started in place of Bryce Thompson early in the season. Tyus Fields has racked up key stats. Kenney Solomon got an interception. And the closest person to making this list, Quavaris Crouch, has 26 tackles and a touchdown run.

However, Jaylen McCollough is the first one to make the list. McCollough was a star in the offseason. He nabbed two interceptions as an early enrollee in the spring game. But throughout the first half of the year, he only played sparingly. That all changed after Trevon Flowers suffered a season-ending injury in his interception against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

After that, McCollough, at 6’0″ 204 pounds, would have to join Theo Jackson in helping out Nigel Warrior at safety. And he earned his first start two weeks later against the South Carolina. He has now emerged in impressive fashion, racking up 22 tackles, two tackles for a loss, a sack and a pass deflection.

We’d say McCollough is not freshman All-SEC yet, but he’s probably an interception or a couple of big plays away from getting there. And he’s got one more game to do it. So watch out for what he ends up doing against the Vanderbilt Commodores. This guy has proven he has a habit of getting his name out there when needed, which is why he makes this list.