KNOXVILLE - When Keller Chryst lofted a football down the away sideline toward the front pylon of Neyland Stadium's north end zone during Tennessee's open practice last Sunday, the purpose was not so much to test his ability as a passer.
After all, the graduate transfer quarterback competing with Jarrett Guarantano for the Volunteers' starting job had no choice. The drill included just one receiver, one cornerback and Chryst. He had to throw it, even though the matchup was less than favorable.
His target was 5-foot-6 Tennessee track athlete Malik Elion, who also plays football. So it was no surprise when 6-foot freshman cornerback Alontae Taylor from Manchester elevated above Elion and came down with an interception.
The moment accelerated the hype around Taylor's potential to be an early contributor, but what the drill mostly proved is just how serious Tennessee's coaching staff is about identifying defensive backs who can play man-to-man against elite athletes.
"One thing that we're doing is we're doing a lot of individual drills versus the defensive backs," head coach Jeremy Pruitt said Thursday. "Lots of one-on-ones. If you can play one-on-one on the defensive side, you don't have any limitations. If you can't, then you're going to have limitations on your defense."
If the Vols are going to unleash their deep corps of linebackers to rush opposing passers this season and execute an occasional blitz from the secondary, like Pruitt did so often as defensive coordinator at Alabama, they need to have defensive backs who can defend the deep ball without any help.
Taylor has the early makings of a player who fits that description - evidenced by his strong showing in the open practice - but Pruitt pumped the brakes Thursday on anointing the newcomer just yet.
"He's learning how to play defensive back, and he's got a long way to go," Pruitt said.
With three weeks left until the Sept. 1 season opener, the pressure is on for Pruitt to develop Taylor and other perimeter defenders capable of keeping West Virginia's prolific passing attack in check.
The Mountaineers return former Florida quarterback Will Grier, who is receiving preseason Heisman Trophy hype, and a pair of receivers in Gary Jennings and David Sills who combined for more than 2,000 receiving yards last year.
It will be a tall order for whoever winds up at cornerback, especially if it's a freshman playing his first collegiate game as Taylor will be.
"He does have some abilities - he's got length, he has good ball skills," Pruitt said of Taylor. "I think he wants to be good. But there's other guys out there that are competing with him every day. He knows he's got to continue to learn and do the little things, the details that will give him a chance to have success. So that's a good thing that we've got competition and that everybody in that group knows it."
The frequent one-on-one drills on the perimeter also serve as a test for Tennessee's wide receivers, who will be called upon to make plays down the field in offensive coordinator Tyson Helton's pro-style scheme.
"The name of the game is explosive plays at some point in time, and you have to throw the football down there and you have to come down with it," Helton said. "Or we have to hand it to a running back and have him take it to the house."
The chances of Elion being on the receiving end of a deep ball thrown down the sideline as he was during the drill with Chryst and Taylor are slim. So Taylor's interception against him in the open practice should be taken with a grain of salt.
With Pruitt's emphasis on one-on-one work in practices, however, the hope is that the best playmakers will prove themselves on both sides of the football.
"We've tried to create a lot of competition," Pruitt said. "Both groups need to really improve at that, and I think they have to an extent, but we need to take that to another level."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.