Tennessee football: Ranking every starter from 2020 who returned by performance in 2021
Junior. 7. player. 839. Scouting Report. Defensive back. Jaylen McCollough. Pick Analysis
6’0″ 205 pounds
Nobody stood out more with big plays in the passing game. Jaylen McCollough led Tennessee football with three interceptions. He also forced a fumble on the year, making him arguably the Vols’ top playmaker on defense. After taking over for Trevon Flowers in 2019, McCollough has been settled in as one of the safety starters ever since.
This year, once again, McCollough locked up the strong safety spot. In addition to forcing those turnovers, he also had five pass deflections, three and a half tackles for a loss, a sack and 49 total tackles, 35 of which were solo. All of this puts him in the top half of these performers.
However, there’s a reason McCollough isn’t higher on the list. His 53.5 PFF grade speaks to it. The fact of the matter is that while McCollough makes lots of great plays, he is also out of position a lot, and that can prove costly in a big way.
A notable example of this is how McCollough handled running quarterbacks. He was part of a unit that just couldn’t contain such players all year, which is why Matt Corral and Bryce Young both had their best rushing performances against the Vols. Young is a pocket passer but looked like a dual-threat that day. McCollough will be back next year, but that’s where he needs to improve.