Tennessee linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. works on lateral drills during NCAA college football practice Friday, Aug. 7, 2015, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Adam Lau/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)
Former Baylor School standout Colton Jumper, a sophomore walk-on at Tennessee, is among those in the running for playing time at middle linebacker.KNOXVILLE — And then there were two.
With its season opener against Bowling Green now less than 10 days away, Tennessee has narrowed one of its most important preseason competitions down to two finalists.
Defensive coordinator John Jancek said after Wednesday’s practice that walk-on Colton Jumper, a former Baylor School standout, and freshman Darrin Kirkland Jr. are the two finalists at middle linebacker.
Entering the week Kenny Bynum, who’s taken most of the first-team reps this preseason, was also in the mix at that position.
“To get three guys reps at this stage of preseason is hard to do,” Jancek said.
Jancek said Jumper and Kirkland have performed better than Bynum in recent practices.
“They’ve done a good job,” he said. “They’ve won the opportunity to compete for the starting position.”
The 6-foot-1, 224-pound Kirkland has come on strong in the last couple of weeks. The early enrollee missed spring practice after suffering a torn pectoral during a winter workout. His early arrival still allowed him to learn Tennessee’s defense.
Jumper starred at Baylor and was set to play football at Navy before winding up as a walk-on with the Vols.
Jancek explained why the sophomore has put himself in position to start.
“It’s the ability to be consistent with run fits,” he said. “He can run well, he can make plays in space. He’s got a good punch. He’s got good instincts, and he’s really done a good job learning our system. He’s spent countless hours in the film room on his own taking notes and watching video.
“All that hard work is paying off. He’s really a great example for a lot of players in college football, guys that come as four- and five-stars but lack maybe the maturity or the work ethic that it takes to make yourself a great player. I think Colton is an example of that. He’s made himself a very good football player.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.