Tennessee football: Five Vanderbilt Commodores to watch for against Vols

Finally, after doing almost nothing all year, Jared Pinkney came alive in the Vanderbilt Commodores’ win over the ETSU Bucs. He had over 75 yards receiving and two touchdowns. That has put his total numbers at 20 receptions for 233 yards and just two touchdowns for the entire season. HIs lack of production has been a big reason for this team’s drop-off this year.

Maybe it’s due to Kyle Shurmur leaving, but this team relied on Pinkney a lot more the previous two years. In 2018, the 6’4″ 260-pound weapon had 50 receptions for 774 yards and seven touchdowns. There’s a reason they made a bowl last year and are 3-8 this year, and it has everything to do with Pinkney’s drop-off. To be fair, he hasn’t played the whole season.

But with his two touchdowns last week and Kalija Lipscomb now being questionable this week, it’s pretty clear that Pinkney is going to be the go-to player for the ‘Dores in the passing game on Saturday. And that means Tennessee football has to be ready.

Riley Neal has struggled, but Pinkney could give him a major safety blanket on Saturday. And if that happens, the Vols could struggle significantly on defense. They had trouble covering certain plays designed for the tight end against the Missouri Tigers, so this puts some pressure on their secondary and coverage linebackers. They have to come through.