Tennessee football: Five key Vols to watch for at South Carolina

It seems like no team outside of the Georgia Bulldogs is equipped to stop the dominant passing attack of Tennessee football. The Missouri Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide both could not keep the Vols from running their full offense. As a result, even at home, the South Carolina Gamecocks shouldn’t have trouble either.

However, this is a uniquely built team, one that relies heavily on big plays here and there and special teams. At 6-4, it’s also a team that loses lots of games on big plays from other teams’ defenses. Also, there is a clear weakness on South Carolina’s defense, one that plays right into the Vols hands but isn’t what you think.

Taking all this account, once again, our post recognizing the key Vols in this game will be a bit unique. That’s been a theme down the stretch of November, and we’re it’s going to happen here. These are the five key Tennessee football players to watch for at South Carolina Saturday.

Defensive Volunteers will be crucial for Tennessee football at the Gamecocks.

6’1″ 186 pounds

South Carolina has thrown 11 interceptions on the year, which is No. 100 in the nation. Four of them have been to cornerbacks. While Kamal Hadden has two picks for the Vols, Brandon Turnage is the guy who has really started to emerge for them recently. This seems like the game for him to turn into a superstar.

Last week, Turnage had two pass deflections, but both were nearly picks. He dove right into the ball on one play, and it just happened to bounce off of him. It wasn’t until against the UT-Martin Skyhawks that we saw him seeing significant action at cornerback, and it’s worked out.

Given the fact that South Carolina is also one of the worst at preventing tackles for a loss, Turnage is doubly fit to make an impact in this game. He came away with one last week for Tennessee football. Simply put, Turnage has been a late bloomer on the Vols’ roster this year, and he’s only getting better. This game is perfect timing for him.