KNOXVILLE - There's one of two promising sophomores to plug into one of the new voids.
Tennessee may find it a little trickier to replace the other lost starter in its once-settled secondary.
In the last week, the Volunteers lost starting nickel cornerback Rashaan Gaulden for the season with a foot injury and senior safety LaDarrell McNeil to a long-term neck injury, leaving the Vols with two key holes to fill shortly before their season opener against pass-happy Bowling Green.
The picture of who would replace Gaulden was a little more unclear than the situation at safety, where Todd Kelly Jr. or Evan Berry will slide into the starting lineup in McNeil's place, but Malik Foreman worked at the nickel spot last week and appears to be in line to start the opener.
"He's been in (the nickel spot) off and on (in the past)," defensive coordinator John Jancek said this week. "Malik's a smart football player. He's been able to pick things just from the meeting room and the walk-throughs and all that, but it's different when you get out there and the bullets are flying.
Tennessee defensive back Malik Foreman (22) breaks up a pass intended for wide receiver Josh Malone (3) during the NCAA college football team's Orange & White game at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, April 25, 2015, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Adam Lau/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)"We're going to give him a shot in there and see what he can do. And he's done a good job up to this point. I give him credit. He's been on point for the most part. We'll just evaluate it as we go."
The junior is one of Tennessee's fastest players, but he's yet to make a major impact defensively. In 22 career games, Foreman has totaled 20 tackles. He has been a fixture on the Vols' special-teams units, though, and returned kickoffs last season.
In his most significant action, Foreman played a couple of series in the first half against Missouri last season while cornerback Cameron Sutton was sidelined. He broke up one pass during that cameo. Foreman made a career-high five tackles late in the TaxSlayer Bowl win against Iowa.
Beyond Foreman, freshman Micah Abernathy appears to be the next option, as Jancek indicated the Vols would prefer to keep Sutton at his outside corner spot. Sutton worked at the nickel spot during spring practice.
"We've got to cross-train a few guys," Jancek said. "Malik Foreman's been in there right now, and then obviously Micah, and Cam is getting some work in there, pretty limited at this point. We're leaving him on the outside because I think that's where he best helps us right now.
"(Losing Gaulden) was a big blow. But nobody's going to feel sorry for us. We've got to move on. The guys have done a great job picking up the slack. That's really all you can say."
Perhaps the biggest key in not moving Sutton inside was the health of Justin Martin, the junior college transfer who's missed all but a week of the preseason with a knee sprain. Martin returned to practice this week, but he's been very limited.
Jancek indicated the Vols would need another player to emerge at cornerback to feel confident in moving Sutton.
"You need some other guys to come on," he said. "Obviously Justin's been out now for several weeks and hasn't gotten a lot of work. He's trying to get back but still isn't able to go. It's unfortunate right now that we have the numbers that we have, but like I said, nobody is going to feel sorry for us.
"We've got to find a way to get it done, and we're going to have to rely more on our front and getting some pressure and forcing some errant throws. We have guys that are getting on-the-job training, and that's just the reality. It's going to be fun, and it's going to be exciting."
Tennessee's secondary can expect a test in the opener. Bowling Green quarterback James Knapke, who Vols head coach Butch Jones said this week was an NFL-caliber player, threw for more than 3,100 yards last season as a first-year starter. His 483 passes in 2014 were the 10th-most in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
It's not the easiest of introductions for a player such as Foreman who may be making his first start at a new position, one that's a key part of Tennessee's defense.
"When you have the nickel package in there, that's huge," Jancek said. "That guy has to know a lot. If you get caught with a different personnel grouping, sure, he's going to have to adjust and solve the problem in a short period of time while he's on the field. It's a huge position."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com