Tennessee football: Four Vols whose return to health could help in 2020
Rising Senior. 4. player. 839. Scouting Report. Defensive Back. Baylen Buchanan. Pick Analysis
It’s not clear if he’ll be back. Baylen Buchanan missed the 2019 season due to cervical spinal stenosis. He’s had to have surgery to fix it, and that delayed his senior season back one year. If Buchanan is able to get back onto the field this season, and that’s a big if, his return will be extremely welcome among Vols fans everywhere.
Last year, Buchanan’s absence early on was noticeable. Tennessee football had a very good secondary but suffered multiple lapses, most notably that big play by the BYU Cougars to set up the game-tying field goal and then their overtime win. The Vols got better as Bryce Thompson got healthy and Nigel Warrior became a star. But Warrior is now gone.
As a result, Buchanan, a veteran, will now be very welcome for Jeremy Pruitt if he can return. The guy, like Warrior, is the son of a former NFL player. His father was Ray Buchanan, and he and Warrior arrived together in 2016. Buchanan was the first freshman to have his helmet sticker removed, so he’s great at picking up defenses.
With his intelligence, Buchanan, who can play cornerback or nickel, will be welcome in the secondary given the loss of Warrior. However, he’s No. 4 on this list because we still can’t be sure if he’s going to be able to get back. That’s a major question surrounding the Vols this offseason.