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. 9 is senior safety Jaylen McCollough.
Past Performance
Jaylen McCollough committed to Tennessee in August of 2018. He was the No. 10 safety in the nation at that point and a four-star prospect, one that had just chosen the Vols over Alabama, South Carolina and others.
That was significant for a team entering the Jeremy Pruitt era, one that would crash and burn not long after his commitment. Tennessee’s additions for the 2019 class included running back Eric Gray, linebacker Quavaris Crouch, Florida prospect Brian Maurer and Georgia transfer Deangelo Gibbs.
It’s a class that is now broken. Of the 26 2019 recruits, transfers and enrollees included, only eight remain. McCollough, former five-star offensive lineman Darnell Wright, soon-to-be starting linebacker Aaron Beasley and starting corner Warren Burrell highlight that bunch.
I could argue that only Beasley serves a more important role for the Vols this season from that group. McCollough has shown to be a ballhawk in the past for Tennessee, accounting for three of the Vols’ 13 interceptions last season. His three picks was most on the team and 4th most in the SEC.
His first forced fumble of his career almost changed the flow of the game against Alabama, but the Crimson Tide’s Bryce Young recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
Opportunities
Of which there are plenty.
McCollough could use some work in the open field. He’s got a sense towards route recognition that likely tops those currently in Tennessee’s secondary, but his open-field tackling was lacking at times in 2021.
It’s a jump that relies solely on coaching. It’s not hard to teach a guy the proper technique to tackle, but so many at the college level struggle anyways – especially difficult butting heads with 200-pound SEC Athletes as competition.
McCollough was fourth among Tennessee’s secondary in tackles last season and just third in total pass breakups with five on the season. Those are both numbers that could stand to go up with another year of experience and an accelerated role under his belt for this season.
It’s also worth noting that McCollough played all 13 games last season while Alontae Taylor, Theo Jackson and Trevon Flowers played 12. The soon-to-be senior leader on this Vols team saw a lot of his production come in the early season before slightly tapering off in SEC play. That’s a worrying trend that will need to turn around if a competitive secondary corps is to see him remain a starter.
Hear it From…
McCollough led the team in interceptions last season. This year, he’s trying to up that number even more – both from himself and the rest of the defensive unit. Especially from the secondary.
“Just some of the things for us to improve on as a secondary is creating more turnovers, being more physical, playing tighter coverage, and just all-around being playmakers,” McCollough said regarding where he sees the team improving. “There’s a lot of experience on the backend. We have a lot of guys who can play, a lot of playmakers. So, we just have to relax and play.”
McCollough is correct that there is a lot of experience in the secondary, but not necessarily experience at Tennessee. This is a case where there are a lot of guys, but not having the guy is a far bigger problem.
Wesley Walker and Andre Turrentine, two incoming transfers that could make a big impact on that side of the ball, stand out when that line of thinking is brought up. Neither are threats to take McCollough’s place, but they can complement his game well. It will be up to defensive backs coach Willie Martinez to make sure the puzzle pieces fit where they are supposed to come Sept. 1 against Ball State.
