KNOXVILLE – Bob Shoop knew he was keeping a top-notch cornerback when Cameron Sutton elected to return for his senior season at Tennessee instead of jumping into the NFL draft.
What the first-year defensive coordinator is finding out this spring is that Sutton is better than he thought when he left Penn State to take the job with the Volunteers.
“I knew he was good, but I didn’t realize he was this good,” Shoop said Thursday. “He’s a pro. Someone asked me what’s so good about him, and it’s his approach. He comes to work every day. He’s the first one out doing (work) off the JUGS machine, hitting the sled and doing his block-destruction drills. He helps the young corners out.
“There’s not a technique that he doesn’t do very, very well.”
Sutton made two excellent plays in last Saturday’s scrimmage, leaping high to intercept a deep ball and knocking away a potential completion on a slant pattern to Preston Williams. Shoop said the turnover on the second play of the scrimmage helped Tennessee’s defense accomplish its goal of starting fast in that initial spring scrimmage.