Tennessee’s win over Alabama on Saturday was even more impressive considering the Vols’ secondary had to overcome the absence of Jaylen McCollough, who was charged with aggravated felony assault on Oct. 9.
The Vols were already without defensive back Warren Burrell, who was sidelined in September with an injury that will preclude him from returning to the field. Tennessee’s secondary was not expected to be a team strength before the season began. It has suffered significant hits in recent weeks.
As for McCollough, who did not play against Alabama, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said McCollough is not suspended during his weekly press conference on Monday.
“He’s not suspended,” Heupel said. “He’s been around, just wasn’t available for Saturday. Process still going on with him and we’ll see how that continues to play out here. Look forward to having him available soon.”
Heupel said he was impressed by junior defensive back Brandon Turnage, who played significant minutes during Alabama.
“Brandon was really solid…did a really good job when he was in there defensively matching things out man-to-man,”Heupel said. “He’s really smart and an intelligent player. We have a lot of trust in him.”
