Tennessee football vs. Vanderbilt: Five key Commodores to watch for against Vols

Despite being a 2-9 team that struggles across the board, the Vanderbilt Commodores have key playmakers at specific spots, particularly on defense. Those playmakers allow them to be in games they shouldn’t be in, and given the history of this series, Tennessee football will have to watch out for those guys all day.

As we get set to break down the most important players on Vandy to watch for, it’s worth noting up front that most of the players will be on defense. However, the ironic part is that defense is where they struggle more. It’s just that beating them requires limiting those big plays on defense.

The offense is super predictable, but there’s one element of the offense that could give the Vols trouble, and that one element will also be a factor on this list. Let’s go ahead and dive in looking at all of this talent for Rocky Top’s regular season finale. These are the five Commodores to watch for when they visit Tennessee football this Saturday.

6’1″ 210 pounds

Both safeties could be a huge threat for the Vols in this game. Dashaun Jerkins is tied for the team leader in interceptions with three, so he almost could have made this list. However, Max Worship does have two interceptions plus a fumble recover, so he’s basically an equal threat on the interception front when you look at what he can do.

Where Worship stands out, though, is being able to play physical elsewhere. The guy has 44 tackles on the year, eight of which were solo. He also has three tackles for a loss, so he can play up on the line, which makes him a threat no matter what offense you run.

Taking that into account, Tennessee football has to be ready for Worship at all times. He’s a bigger threat than Jenkins because the Vols are more prone to negative plays than interceptions, and Worship, while capable of interceptions almost on the level of Jerkins, is much more capable of physical plays than Jerkins.