Tennessee senior cornerback Alontae Taylor admits he wasn’t exactly aces at Volunteer State geography as a youngster growing up in Manchester, the county seat of Coffee County.
“I didn’t know where Chattanooga was for the longest time, and I didn’t realize it was closer than I thought,” the 6-foot, 193-pounder said. “I always thought Chattanooga was as far away as Knoxville – like two or three hours – but Chattanooga can be less than an hour drive. I’ve been there several times to go to UTC and see some of my friends.
“It’s a good vacation spot.”
Taylor’s knowledge of Tennessee has grown through the years along with his love for the state, and those factors played a role in his decision to suit up one final season for the Volunteers. Last year’s 3-7 collapse in Jeremy Pruitt’s third and tumultuous season as coach followed by January’s revelation that a university investigation had uncovered NCAA Level I and II violations resulted in a mass exodus from Knoxville via the NCAA transfer portal.
Running backs Eric Gray and Ty Chandler, offensive tackles Wanya Morris and Jahmir Johnson, receiver Brandon Johnson, edge rusher Deondre Johnson and inside linebacker Henry To’o To’o were among Tennessee’s top players last year and decided to leave, and the secondary took a hit as well when Key Lawrence joined Gray and Morris at Oklahoma, and when Bryce Thompson entered the NFL draft pool a year early and didn’t get selected.