Tennessee defensive backs coach Willie Martinez has one heckuva assignment this week. Not only does he have to defend a running quarterback, he also has to defend one of the top – and most versatile – receivers in the nation.
Let’s start with Grayson McCall, the transfer quarterback from Coastal Carolina that probably runs a little better than he throws, but has tons of experience. While the Vols like to be multiple in their defensive front, it may be more wise to be be a little more simplistic on the back end of Tennessee’s defense. Why? McCall can burn you with his running ability, especially against man coverage, which the Vols like to utilize in some of their blitz schemes.
“Yeah he’s athletic,” Martinez said. “You know he’s obviously had a lot of success in the previous spot that he was at. He’s got leadership. He’s got good awareness, field awareness of what defenses are doing.”
There’s no debating that McCall should have more field awareness than most considering he’s played college football since 2020 and thrown for over 10,000 yards in college. Still, he looked a bit confused on his lone interception last week against Western Carolina as the Wolfpack needed a full four quarters to top the Catamounts. If McCall and North Carolina State start the Tennessee game as they did against Western Carolina, they could be down 21 points in the first quarter.
When McCall is looking for a big play, he’ll look to Kevin Concepcion, who racked up 121 receiving yards on nine catches against Western Carolina. North Carolina State will do most everything they can to get Concepcion the ball, which includes moving him in motion and lining him up in the backfield. Concepcion, who is 5-foot-11 and 189 pounds, will even carry the ball on occasion and was named the ACC Freshman of the Year last season.
“He’s a great player,” Martinez said of Concepcion. “He’s been very productive in his career…He can be in any kind of position. (He) can be in the backfield. Obviously, he can be an outside receiver. He can be an inside receiver. He’s a ball-in-hand guy…Being disciplined and don’t let the motions and the shifts get you off of what your assignment is. They do a great job with their scheme. And, uh, we just got to do a great job of executing.”
That could put the hopes on Tennessee’s most volatile position, the Star, which is a hybrid defensive back/linebacker role. The Vols began preseason camp intent on Jourdan Thomas being the starter at the Star before he suffered a season-ending injury early in preseason camp. Therefore, the Vols turned to sophomore Christian Harrison and true freshman Boo Carter. There’s no questioning Carter’s talent, but his discipline will determine just how much Martinez can play one of his best young players.
