Tennessee defensive back Cam Sutton has established himself as one of the top defensive backs in the SEC, and his play in Saturday’s 10-9 loss to rival Florida only solidified that claim.
Florida tested Sutton several times through the air, but he continually answered the call. The sophomore corner only recorded one tackle, but had three pass breakups and made a great play on the ball in the first quarter to come up with a big interception, picking off Jeff Driskel.
“It was just man coverage,” Sutton said. “I just used techniques that the coaching staff taught us, and it was just down the field, just wedging the receiver, getting into the receiver and then just going up and making a play on the ball.”
Sutton’s pick was his third of the season, putting him in a tie with Ole Miss defensive back Senquez Golson for first place in the SEC.
Sutton was part of a Tennessee defense that allowed 10 points and 76 yards through the air. He was also one of three different players to record an interception off Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel, who Sutton said had a habit of telegraphing passes, which the Volunteer secondary made him pay for.
“He kind of has a tendency of staring down his receivers,” Sutton said. “We just had to be in those windows, just to make plays on the ball.”
Tennessee shut the Gators out for the first three quarters of the game, but then faltered, allowing 10 straight points in the fourth quarter. Despite that rough quarter, the young Tennessee defense hopes to learn from that experience.
“We just have to get back tomorrow and come into the film room and learn from those mistakes,” Sutton said. “Learn to fit those gaps and tackle in space. Three to four plays made a difference throughout the game, and we just have to limit those explosive plays, explosive runs and continue to get the ball back to our offense.”
A Medley of confidence: While Tennessee’s offense struggled to finish drives, true freshman Aaron Medley made sure to take advantage of the opportunities he was given.
Medley hit all three of his field goal attempts, scoring the Volunteer’s only points of the game. After both teams failed to score in the first quarter, he scored the first nine points of the game, hitting on field goals of 36, 38 and 39 yards.
“I just have trust in my entire field goal line,” Medley said. “Especially today, we had a little mix up, but it was just great snapping and great holding all day.”
Tennessee got the ball back with just over two minutes left in the game, needing only a field goal to win, meaning Medley had to prepare himself mentally in case he was needed for one final kick.
After building his confidence throughout the game, Medley said he was “comfortable from 50” if the game would have come down to one final kick.
“I was definitely ready,” Medley said. “I’d had a few warmups, and I was just waiting on my chance. I was definitely trying to stay in the zone because anything can happen. You just have to look at it as ‘I’m over here and I just have to be ready for my team.'”
Inordinate infractions: Throughout the year, the Vols have prided themselves on being a team that doesn’t commit a lot of penalties, as they had only been flagged 16 times in four games this year.
That, however, changed in the first half.
The Vols were penalized seven times for 44 yards in the first half of Saturday’s game, with many of those flags coming at critical points in the game.
“Those were big,” head coach Butch Jones said. “Anytime you have pre-snap penalties or negative yardage plays, that adversely affects you. We’re not good enough right now to overcome first and 15. Those are mental errors which we cannot have, and it comes from a communicative standpoint.”
Twice Tennessee had third and short and turned to Jalen Hurd in their wildcat formation, and both times the offensive line jumped before the ball was snapped, resulting in two critical false starts that stalled both drives.
The change under center seemingly had an effect on the offensive line, with the Vols not communicating up front like they needed to in those situations.
“Once again, we were hurting ourselves,” said quarterback Justin Worley. “Jalen I guess wasn’t barking out the cadence loud enough. Some of the guys heard it and some of the guys didn’t. The only guy that needs to hear it is the guy snapping the ball, and he was one of the few that wasn’t hearing it.
“We just have to learn from these things, and work on these things in practice this week.”
