Tennessee football vs. Purdue: Five Boilermakers to watch for against Vols
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Defensive lineman. player. 3. 848. Junior. Branson Deen
6’2″ 275 pounds
Josh Heupel and Tennessee football caught a huge break with defensive end George Karlaftis opting out of this game. Karlaftis is the type of player who would have exploited the Vols’ issues at preventing sacks on Hendon Hooker, especially with Cade Mays banged up, as he had 10 tackles for a loss and four and a half sacks on the year.
Anyway, without him, Purdue will have to rely on Kyrdan Jenkins and DaMarcus Mitchell on the outside. Both are valuable. Jenkins has eight tackles for a loss and five sacks, and Mitchell has five tackles for a loss and three and a half sacks. However, Heupel should focus on the middle.
Branson Deen at defensive tackle is the anchor who makes this defense go. He’s the reason those ends can be so effective. Despite lining up in the middle, he is second on the team in tackles for a loss with nine and a half, and he also has three sacks. Add in a forced fumble and 26 tackles, 14 of which were solo, and he does a lot of great things.
Taking all of that into account, Deen is the guy Heupel and Alex Golesh need to watch out for if they want their offense to do what it needs to do. He could give them a lot of trouble in the middle as they try to establish their running game, which will be crucial to winning this outing.