Tennessee football vs. Missouri: Five Tigers to watch

6’0″ 232 pounds; Frisco, Texas

One of the best players Tennessee football will face all year, Nick Bolton is a preseason All-American just like Trey Smith for a reason. His talent alone makes him the top player to keep an eye on this weekend.

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The Missouri Tigers will look to stop the run at all costs and cash in on potentially errant throws from Jarrett Guarantano. With two interceptions in 2019, including a pick-six, Bolton is certainly the guy who could do that. Given the fact that he had a sack and eight and a half tackles for a loss in 2019 as well, he’s a guy who can literally do it all.

Against the Alabama Crimson Tide, Bolton showed he’s clearly not going anywhere. He came away with eight total tackles, three of which were solo, a tackle for a loss and a fumble recovery, showing that he’s only getting better.

If the Vols aren’t careful, Bolton could force multiple fumbles, he could bait Guarantano into making bad throws, and he will definitely be difficult to go against when trying to establish a run game. All of these things are a big deal, and Ryan Walters will do everything he can to make sure Bolton is as effective as he can possibly be.

Now, Jeremy Pruitt and Jim Chaney did manage to handle Will Muschamp’s defense without making key mistakes. Bolton, however, is better than anybody on the South Carolina Gamecocks. As a result, Tennessee football has to be careful.