Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt meets with media after Wednesday’s practice.
Posted by Tennessee Vols Update on Wednesday, October 10, 2018
KNOXVILLE – Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt offered a public challenge this week to a player who is expected to spend a significant amount of time at one of his defense’s most important spots Saturday.
A shuffling of parts in the secondary after an injury to freshman safety Trevon Flowers means versatile senior Micah Abernathy is likely to play a lot at safety when the Volunteers (2-3, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) visit No. 21 Auburn (4-2, 1-2) for a noon EDT kickoff.
The move is natural for Abernathy, who has spent plenty of time at safety during his Vols career. But it means Baylen Buchanan will likely slide in at the nickel position (fifth defensive back), where Abernathy has regularly lined up this season.
“He is plenty capable of doing it,” Pruitt said of Buchanan. “But he will have to raise his level of play if we are going to keep him in there.”