Tennessee football: Five positions battles heading into Vols 2020 spring practice

3. Safety

Technically, both safety spots are open. Tennessee football lost strong safety Nigel Warrior, who led the team in interceptions last year, to graduation. He was the leader and the glue guy back there. However, the Vols also lost Trevon Flowers, who was emerging at free safety, due to a broken leg on an interception he got against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

With Flowers gone, Jaylen McCullough emerged at the position. Now, heading into this year, there’s a question as to who will start at both safety spots. Could Flowers or McCullough move over to strong safety? If not, they’ll both have to be competing for the starting free safety spot, as they both proved a lot of value at different times last season.

Meanwhile, Theo Jackson is a veteran and likely to work his way into the rotation as well. He’s been a starter before. However, Tyus Fields and Cheyenne Labruzza have proven some value as well. Then there’s the wildcard of Baylen Buchanan potential returning to play nickel, which opens things up for Shawn Shamburger to move over and get a look at safety.

All of these things simply mean the position is currently wide open. We’re not sure how it’s going to work out, and summer arrivals like Keshawn Lawrence will only make it more interesting. What’s clear is the fact that this is a position battle worth paying heavy attention to. Cornerback is locked up with Bryce Thompson and Alontae Taylor, but safety is wide open.