Rashaan Gaulden has arguably been the Vols’ best defensive player during the 2017 season. And national analysts seem to agree on that.
Pro Football Focus’s college department put out their SEC Teams of the Week, and Gaulden once again impressed the folks over at Pro Football Focus.
Earlier this season, Pro Football Focus graded Gaulden as one of the best defensive backs in the SEC through the entire year up to that point. When quarterbacks targeted a receiver Gaulden is covering, they had just a 24.4 quarterback rating at that point in the season. That was the fourth-lowest rating by a single defensive back in the conference.
And this week, Gaulden was named to the Week 8 SEC Defensive Team of the Week.
PFF Week 8 – SEC Team of the Week – Defense pic.twitter.com/3bhkLqmaWp
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) October 24, 2017
According to Pro Football Focus, Gaulden graded out as the second-best cornerback in SEC play this past weekend, and his score of 84.3 was the seventh-best among all SEC defenders on the team.
Gaulden’s play on Saturday against Alabama may be remembered more for a certain double finger salute he gave Alabama fans, but he did more than just that against the Tide. Gaulden totaled two tackles, recovered Alabama’s only fumble of the game, and he broke up two passes.
On the season, Gaulden has 42 tackles, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, an interception, and three pass breakups.
