Two of Tennessee football’s defensive backs can vouch for a popular notion — not judging a book by its cover.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t pretty. Boo Carter and Jalen McMurray were bright spots on an otherwise ugly afternoon for their position group. Despite a lopsided final score, UAB quarterback Jalen Kitna enjoyed a 364-yard day against the Vols’ secondary, completing 38 passes in the process.
The lingering injuries that have plagued secondary coach Willie Martinez’s group continue to rear their ugly head. The search for mojo is one of the keys to finding a road to success.
“You gotta have confidence,” McMurray said. “I feel like that’s half the battle. I can say that my confidence is at a high right now. I’m just trying to get better every day, at practice and week by week, Saturday by Saturday.”
McMurray’ confidence can be drawn from turning in one of the better performances of his lengthy college career against the Blazers. His six total tackles were good enough for second among his teammates, only bested by Carter’s nine. The duo combined for five tackles for loss. The 28 other players who received defensive reps against the Blazers only mustered four.
Carter made an impact in the turnover department, forcing two loose footballs. His second punchout was immediately converted into points when Kaleb Beasley scooped up the free ball and returned it for six. His strong play throughout the action made the lowlights elsewhere appear not as prominent.
“That’s a talented secondary and it’s a really good scheme,” UAB head coach Trent Dilfer said. “I talked to Coach Martinez after the game, I said ‘I don’t know what I’m more impressed with, how good your players are or how good your scheme is.’ They don’t take the bait. They just sit back, trust their scheme, trust their players, trust in their assignments and they make it incredibly hard to get explosive plays against them.”
The Vols ran into most of their troubles once digging into the depth chart.
As Tennessee’s lead grew into blowout territory, UAB took advantage of the reserves. The Blazers racked up 224 yards through the air in the second half, an exposure of the Vols’ lack of help in the back end of the defensive backs room. Considering the injuries to starting corners Rickey Gibson III and Jermod McCoy, Tennessee cannot afford any further medical setbacks.
The mood inside of the locker room is different though.
“Does anybody care, though?” head coach Josh Heupel said. “At the end of the day, you either win or you lose. There’s no asterisk next to it. You gotta go win.”
The underdog mindset among the secondary can be a helpful tool on the road, something that is forming among Martinez’s guys as they plan to pack their bags for a road date with Mississippi State in Week 5. The only question remains whether or not confidence will be among the luggage on the plane to Starkville.
“It’s 11 on 11 between the white lines,” Heupel said. “If something else is affecting you, you’re allowing it. It’s attention to detail, it’s communication. Then you got to go make plays.”
