KNOXVILLE - In Jeremy Pruitt's ideal world, fluctuation in Tennessee's rotation of defensive backs would be minimal during games.
"Secondary is one of those positions that if you have guys that can play, you aren't wanting to take them out of the game, because it only takes them one time to mess up and the other team could score points," the first-year coach said midway through the Volunteers' preseason practice schedule.
Through three games, Pruitt has been forced to work around that preference.
Seven Tennessee defensive backs recorded tackles in the first half of last week's 24-0 victory over the University of Texas at El Paso. The committee approach to the back end of the defense reflected a tweaked strategy Pruitt articulated before the game.
"I think that each week there'll be different guys that play in the secondary," he said. "We've got to get everybody to play at a high level, and I think the way you go about your business in practice is very important."
With Florida (2-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) coming to Knoxville for a 7 p.m. Saturday showdown, Tennessee (2-1, 0-0) has now rotated eight defensive backs through its first-team defense this season. That number could still grow if fifth-year senior safety Todd Kelly returns healthy enough to compete for playing time this season.
Soundcloud embed link:The most obvious reason for the fluctuation at the position is youth. Three of Tennessee's top eight defensive backs are freshmen, and three others - Baylen Buchanan, Trevon Flowers and Shawn Shamburger - entered the season with two combined career starts.
Two freshmen - Trevon Flowers and Alontae Taylor - started in the secondary when West Virginia torched Tennessee for more than 400 passing yards in the opener. A third, Bryce Thompson, received substantial playing time. Flowers and Taylor played lesser roles the past two weeks when Tennessee's defense gave up less than 100 passing yards in wins over East Tennessee State and UTEP.
"Alontae was the best guy in practice when we played West Virginia," Pruitt said. "Then the last two weeks, he wasn't. It's no different than any other position. I think we probably started different guys at other spots, so it's not that big of a deal. He's a freshman. He started the first game as a freshman. That's a big deal. He's got to continue to work, and he will and he has."
A common theme for Flowers and Taylor is that both are new to their secondary positions. Taylor played quarterback for Coffee County Central High School and was recruited by many schools as a wide receiver. Flowers, meanwhile, focused on baseball during most of his time at Georgia's Tucker High School before resuming football his senior year.
"Trevon has really good ball skills," Pruitt said. "He has the best ball skills on the team. He's very instinctive; he's got good toughness. Just hasn't played a lot of ball. He hasn't played football since the eighth grade. Played last year for the first time. So now he's in the SEC and he's at a place where we're asking a lot out of him on the back end. So he's learning, he's going to get better."
Now the competition ticks back up with a visit from the Gators and redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks, who has been inconsistent so far this season but will present a far greater challenge than what the Vols experienced the past two weeks.
Buchanan and Thompson are listed as the starting cornerbacks on this week's depth chart, while senior Micah Abernathy and junior Nigel Warrior are listed as the starting safeties. Sophomore Theo Jackson is listed as a third-team safety, but he has played consistently the past two weeks, especially in the nickel package in which Abernathy slides to cornerback.
"We want to find the guys that know how we want them to play, can get lined up, make the calls, understands formations, play the ball and is a good tackler," Pruitt said. "There are lots of good competition out there, and every day somebody else shows up and someone won't perform like they need to. We need guys who are consistent."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.