Secondary
Nathanael: F
I may be a little harsh here on UT’s secondary, but I just wasn’t particularly impressed by them in this game. Alontae Taylor’s punch got him ejected, and that’s unacceptable no matter how you look at it. Yes, the Alabama player was also involved, but Taylor has to keep a cooler head there. He cost the Vols a starter in a secondary that was already down one starter in Micah Abernathy and a key backup in Trevon Flowers. A lot of the damage Alabama did through the air was more because Tua Tagovailoa is a wizard with the football and fit some passes into tight spaces, but there were plenty of times Tennessee’s secondary got beat or missed tackles or big plays. Nigel Warrior once again dropped an interception, for example.
Ben: F
I want to give Tennessee’s defensive backs the benefit of the doubt because they went up against the greatest Alabama quarterback of all-time. But that’s not the standard at Tennessee, and the defensive backs had a horrific day. Tagovailoa threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns, slicing the Tennessee secondary left and right. The potential Heisman winner made great throw after great throw, but on several throws, there wasn’t a Tennessee defensive back within a couple of yards. They gave Alabama’s receivers too much separation, and Tagovailoa made them pay.
