GAME BREAKDOWN
KEY MATCHUP: Tennessee’s secondary received a boost with the return of senior Micah Abernathy against Kentucky. The unit is expected to add even more depth when safety Trevon Flowers likely returns from the collarbone injury that’s sidelined the freshman for the last five games.
Helped by the senior Abernathy’s seven tackles, the Vols held the Wildcats to 185 yards passing and a touchdown. Missouri, however, promises a much more dynamic offense behind quarterback Drew Lock. The senior is averaging 264.7 yards per game via the air, second in the SEC, to go along with 21 touchdowns.
Lock can be vulnerable, tossing eight interceptions on the year and the Tennessee pass defense has stabilized, yielding a respectable 205.1 yards per game. But plenty of work remains if Tennessee wants to slow a quarterback who could potentially hear his name called during the 2019 NFL Draft.
“We need to clean up technique in the back end,” Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt said of his defense. “There’s probably several times maybe there was guys open Saturday, but we had some good pass rush. We need to clean up back there. We just have to work on fundamentals and continuing to improve and play the ball, keep them cut off.”
DRAFT SLANT
–ILB Daniel Bituli once again paced Tennessee in tackles, this time with eight take-downs against Kentucky, 2.5 of them for a loss. The junior leads the team with 65 tackles, just ahead of safety Nigel Warrior (49 tackles). The duo finished No. 1 and 2, respectively, in tackles a year ago, as well. Bituli has 164 tackles for his career.
ROSTER REPORT:
–CB Bryce Thompson will undergo concussion protocol this week as he recovers from a head injury sustained in the fourth quarter against Kentucky. The freshman leads the Vols with three interceptions as well as passes defended with six.
–S Trevon Flowers expects to return to the field against Missouri. The freshman missed the Vols’ last five games with a broken collarbone. Flowers had nine tackles and broke up a pass in his first five games prior to the injury.