Tennessee football: Five Ball State Cardinals to watch for against Vols
Tavion Woodard. player. 2246. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Defensive line. r-Sophomore. 4
6’4″ 259 pounds
Ball State is thin in the middle on the defensive line, but they have some weapons on the edge. Most notably among them is Tavion Woodard. Woodard led all returning players in tackles for a loss last year and was second on the team overall with eight. He actually led all members of the front seven there, as Bryce Cosby played safety.
In addition to tackles for a loss, Woodard had two and a half sacks, two forced fumbles, a pass deflection and 28 total tackles, 20 of which were solo. Simply put, he is a playmaker, and he’s exactly the type of player who could give Tennessee football trouble in their passing game.
Remember, despite being very efficient with his throwing numbers, Hendon Hooker took a lot of sacks last year and stood in the pocket for far too long. He could be vulnerable to a player like Woodard, who would be attacking him from his blindside and could wreak havoc.
Given the fact that Woodard will be lining up against the Vols’ left tackle and that they have open competition there between Gerald Mincey and Jeremiah Crawford, there’s even a greater risk of him standing out. As a result, it’s pretty obvious that Josh Heupel needs to scheme against him all game if he’s going to avoid a threat from the Cardinals.