Saturday was a bit alarming for Tennessee Football. Even though the Vols beat the Chattanooga Mocs 69-3, they didn’t start Rickey Gibson III, and James Pearce Jr. only played 10 snaps. Pearce is the biggest superstar in a long time for UT on defense, while Gibson is an up and comer.
Believe it or not, Gibson, the up-and-comer, is the guy they need back most.
Despite Pearce not playing, it’s clear as day that Tennessee Football has elite talent at edge rusher to replace him with. Jordan Ross already looks like a rare athlete for the Vols, and while it was only against UTC, Joshua Josephs showed he should be ready to go.
However, secondary is one position that Josh Heupel hasn’t been able to figure out to this point, and all offseason, we heard about how Gibson could be a lockdown corner. As a result, his presence, not Pearce’s, would do more to increase the play of Rocky Top.
Now, Josh Heupel was unfortunately cagey about why Gibson missed the opener, and in doing so, he implied Gibson had gotten in trouble. Perhaps that’s true, but it’s not like Pearce hasn’t had his own brushes with the law since joining Rocky Top.
The truth is that both are equally reliable. While Pearce has more talent, though, he’s certainly significantly more replaceable. Have you seen the Vols’ secondary over the past three years? They can’t afford to have Gibson sit out the season.
Against a pass-happy offense like the N.C. State Wolfpack, Gibson’s return is more important. However, Heupel implied there should be no issues with him getting on the field this week, so perhaps he was saving the best collection of elite defenders since Tennessee Football joined the SEC.
Taking all this into account, there’s not much question that Gibson could end up more crucial than Pearce. The Vols will find an edge rusher if Pearce goes down, but finding another potential lockdown corner is an extremely tall task.
