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Tennessee football: Five Vols to watch for against Alabama

By Dean Zulkofske

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 20: LaBryan Ray #89 of the Alabama Crimson Tide battles with Offensive lineman Trey Smith #73 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alabama won 58-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 20: LaBryan Ray #89 of the Alabama Crimson Tide battles with Offensive lineman Trey Smith #73 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 20, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Alabama won 58-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Missouri offensive lineman Xavier Delgado (72) and Tennessee linebacker Kivon Bennett (95) in the second quarter during a game between Tennessee and Missouri at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020.100320 Tenn Mo Jpg
Missouri offensive lineman Xavier Delgado (72) and Tennessee linebacker Kivon Bennett (95) in the second quarter during a game between Tennessee and Missouri at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020.100320 Tenn Mo Jpg /

2. player. Scouting Report. Linebacker. Redshirt Junior. 839. Pick Analysis. Kivon Bennett

6’2″ 245 pounds; Hometown: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Totaling 2245 yards over four weeks, or 561.3 yards per game, Alabama’s offense hasn’t had any shortage of production this season. Maybe even more impressive, the Crimson Tide have done all of that on just 270 offensive plays from scrimmage. That’s an average of 8.31 yards per play, good for the best rate in all of college football.

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Taking into account the stable of future NFL wide receivers they have running routes, it’s no surprise that 1572 of those yards on offense have come in the air. An offensive line that has only conceded seven sacks on the year has a lot to do with that passing production.

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Rushing Alabama quarterback Mac Jones is exactly where Tennessee football needs Kivon Bennett to show up. Jones, who recently earned SEC offensive player of the week honors for his performance against the Georgia Bulldogs, won’t have much difficulty finding open-receivers if he’s given the time to do so.

Bennett, who started the season with half a sack and five tackles against the South Carolina Gamecocks, has recorded three tackles in as many games and is yet to bring a quarterback down on his own.

All you can ask the defense of in this matchup is to keep it close and give UT’s offense an opportunity to put points on the board. That begins with Bennett disrupting plays behind the line of scrimmage and making it difficult for the Tide to put efficient drives together.

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The Vols can’t expect to pull off the upset unless they find a way to pressure Jones and slow down Alabama’s pass production. Look for Bennett to play a big part in Jeremy Pruitt’s and Derrick Ansley’s defensive game plan.

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