Off The Hook Sports continues its 2022 Tennessee football preseason preview on the top 25 impact players for the Vols this upcoming season.

Coming in at No. 14 is redshirt junior defensive back Brandon Turnage.

Past Performance

The most tackles Brandon Turnage had prior to running through the ‘T’ against South Carolina last season was two. He septupled that number by day’s end, finishing with 14 tackles with two tackles for loss in a 45-20 win. It was likely Tennessee’s best defensive performance of the season, one that earned him SEC defensive player of the week honors.

It was also Tennessee’s first Defensive Player of the Week honor since Bryce Thompson won the award in 2019.

Turnage struggled to see the field at Alabama his freshman and sophomore seasons, transferring to Tennessee in 2021 and finding a legitimate role with the Vols and newly hired defensive coordinator Tim Banks. By many accounts, it’s hard to imagine there being higher ceiling for any of the Vols’ defensive backs heading into 2022.

Turnage was the No. 2 player in the state of Mississippi heading into his freshman season for the Crimson Tide. He made one appearance against Western Carolina but mostly warmed the bench in what was a ‘down’ season for Nick Saban and Alabama, finishing at 11-2 and 10^th in the AP poll.

Turnage saw some action in 2020 when Alabama turned things around and won its sixth national championship under Saban. He played in three games and broke up one pass against Mississippi State behind an Alabama secondary that would see five players drafted to the NFL.

A good amount of Turnage’s appearances in early 2021 were on special teams. He finished with nine appearances with 22 tackles and two tackles for loss

Opportunities

NFL draftee Theo Jackson was inactive for Tennessee’s game against South Carolina, necessitating a new starting player at the Star position.

Tennessee’s secondary was shaky at best at that point of the season, but Jackson was one of few bright spots. With him out, the Vols were lacking what had been reliable play at one of the most important positions on the field.

Turnage didn’t just have a good game at Star, he excelled – enough for a possible nod in 2022 with Jackson now departed. Turnage seems to be a great choice for the vacant position, as does veteran safety Trevon Flowers. Georgia Tech transfer Wesley Walker also has experience at nickel from his couple of productive seasons for the Yellow Jackets.

At the very least, Turnage should start or see several starts at some position in the defensive secondary with both Jackson and Alontae Taylor gone. Were Flowers to slide down to the Star, look for Turnage to assume his most comfortable role as Tennessee’s last line of defense.

If last season was a taste of what he is capable of, 2022 could be a strong one for Brandon Turnage.

 Hear it from…

Josh Heupel was impressed with Turnage’s performance against the Gamecocks.

The Vols were banged up much of last season, averaging around 4-5 names on the injury report in a good week. Turnage stepping up and having that next man mentality was truly a sight for sore eyes.

“A young man that since he’s come in the building, he’s had great work habits and has continued to invest and battled a little bit of injury during training camp which set his timetable back maybe just a little bit,” Heupel said after the win. “Guy’s done a good job on the special teams when given the opportunity, has continued to invest, has great knowledge, ability to play multiple spots. (He) gets his opportunity last Saturday. Smart, competitive and played with great effort and played with great technique. Proud of what he did on Saturday.”

A major upside for Tennessee’s secondary this season, and in turn Turnage, is the aura of potential. Three starters from a bad unit return, but intriguing newcomers and players looking for an expanded role such as Turnage will make for an interesting positional race come preseason camp in August.

And I’d put money on Turnage turning some heads.