BY THE NUMBERS
› 529: The number of tackles Brian Randolph and LaDarrell McNeil made during their Tennessee careers. Both were seniors in 2015, leaving a void for the Vols to fill heading into next season.› 6: Career interceptions by Todd Kelly Jr., who started five games in his first two seasons at Tennessee. They all came in big games, too. As a freshman he picked off passes against Florida, Georgia and Vanderbilt, and in 2015 he had two against Oklahoma and a key pick against Vanderbilt.› 173.5: Passing yards allowed per game by new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop’s defense at Penn State in 2015. The Nittany Lions ranked eighth nationally in pass defense. In 2014 Penn State ranked ninth in that category under Shoop.
KNOXVILLE – It’s been a tumultuous couple of weeks for Tennessee’s football program. Actual football is on the horizon, however.
The Volunteers open spring practice next week, and the Times Free Press will preview the key parts of an offseason that so far has been dominated by off-field headlines.
After listing five intriguing players to watch, the preview continues by examining how Tennessee will replace two experienced defenders.
Who steps in at safety for the departed Brian Randolph and LaDarrell McNeil?
Randolph brought both a unique hairstyle and a likable personality to the Vols while also providing an experienced, reliable back-line option. When healthy the veteran rarely came off the field, and his impact went beyond how many tackles he made. And he finished with 310 of those during his five-year career.
Since he played in a program-record 53 games, it’ll be odd not seeing Randolph anchor Tennessee’s secondary.
The same can be said for McNeil, a 41-game starter whose career was interrupted by a neck-injury scare just weeks before his senior season.
Neither Randolph nor McNeil was a perfect player, but both were reliable players who had the trust and confidence of the defensive coaching staff.
There will be an experience drop-off at safety, but there may not be one from a talent standpoint, given some of the younger players who will vie for the position.
Safety is the biggest hole new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, a safeties coach by trade, must fill in his first offseason, and the spring competition could be pretty heated.
Todd Kelly Jr. and Evan Berry often rotated into games last season, so both have some SEC experience. Rashaan Gaulden and Micah Abernathy potentially could get looks at safety after playing cornerback, and either could wind up anywhere in the secondary. The coaching staff is high on Stephen Griffin, but his freshman season was marred with injuries.
Kelly was Tennessee’s de facto third safety his freshman and sophomore seasons, and given his playmaking ability and experience it seems a foregone conclusion he’ll slide into the starting lineup.
Tennessee’s kickoff return man extraordinaire, Berry improved defensively in 2015 after struggling in a start in the season opener and regularly rotated into games as the season progressed.
The Vols have improved depth at cornerback with the early arrivals of Marquill Osborne and D.J. Henderson, so Gaulden and Abernathy could be factors in the safety competition, too.
Gaulden has the speed, range and physicality that could translate well at safety if he stays healthy.
Abernathy was Tennessee’s No. 2 nickel cornerback as a freshman in 2015, but the 6-foot, 193-pounder is better suited to play safety, where he was classified as a recruit by Rivals.com.
At 6-2 and 200 pounds, Griffin looks like a prototypical safety, but any chance he had of contributing as a freshman, either on special teams or as a defensive reserve, was hampered by a preseason ankle injury that limited him to eight appearances in 2015.
The Vols signed a pair of touted safety prospects in Tyler Byrd and Nigel Warrior, and both will add to the competition once they arrive in the summer.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.