Tennessee football: Five reasons Vols can turn season around
2. Players should be getting much healthier.
Shawn Shamburger, despite his value, was a distraction all year because of the time he missed. Taking the rest of the year off to focus on academics allows Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley to go ahead and commit elsewhere at nickel.
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Beyond him, though, Alontae Taylor and Bryce Thompson have been battling injuries all year. Taylor has missed multiple games. Combine that with the loss of Nigel Warrior, and it’s easy to see why Tennessee football has struggled in the secondary this year.
However, Pruitt said the team appears to be going into this week as healthy as it’s been in a while. If Thompson and Taylor are back to 100 percent, that’s a gigantic boost for the secondary, which was obviously the biggest reason for the loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Underrated about this team, though, has been the improvement in exterior blocking. Wanya Morris didn’t have the second-year surge he was expected to have because he barely practiced in the preseason and then got banged up. He could be good to go now.
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That issue proved devastating back in October, so if it has improved, it’s a major plus. If Jahmir Johnson and Jerome Carvin have also gotten healthier, that’s another boost for the program. You have to think two byes in three weeks was useful here.