Lebron James 10 sale that plan against the Tigers.

Aside from all the off-field talk surrounding the indefinitely suspensions of senior All-SEC middle linebacker A.J. Johnson and sophomore cornerback Michael Williams, those potential absences combined with the one-half targeting suspension for junior safety Brian Randolph leave the Tennessee football with a gargantuan on-field question to answer.
Tennessee safeties LaDarrell McNeil (left) and Todd Kelly Jr. celebrate Kelly’s fumble recovery against Utah State earlier this season in Neyland Stadium. (Photo: Knoxville News Sentinel)
Who steps up to get the defense lined up for at least the first half Saturday’s game against 19th-ranked Missouri?

That’s one of the many things Johnson and Randolph do, and it’s something both do exceptionally well. Lebron James 9 for sale And that, among other reasons, is why those two almost Bryant 7 Shoes sale never leave the field when Tennessee’s defense is on it.

In order to make a play, you usually have to be in the right place at the right time.

And the Vols will have new directors of traffic for at least the first half of Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. Eastern game in Neyland Stadium.

The abridged version is this: Highly touted freshman safety and Tennessee legacy Todd Kelly Jr. will step in for Randolph and do his best to help junior veteran safety LaDarrell McNeil get things sorted out on the back end, mature-beyond-his-years sophomore Jalen Reeves-Maybin will direct more traffic than usual for the front seven from his weak side linebacker spot and versatile junior defensive end and outside linebacker Curt Maggitt will do anything he can from wherever he is on any given snap.

In short, it’ll be a committee.

The Vols don’t have another practical choice.

“We’re gonna need to grow up in a hurry,” Jones said.
Tennessee freshman linebacker Jakob Johnson (Photo: Wes Rucker, 247Sports)
The most common like-for-like substitution for Johnson from a pure talent standpoint is freshman Jakob Johnson, but he’s a freshman who has spent all but two years of his life in his native Germany, so his (American) football intellect is consistently improving but nowhere near ideal. The English language is no problem for Jakob Johnson, but the language of football is still very much a work in progress for him.

And that’s why Reeves-Maybin — who according to linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen is one of the smartest players he’s ever coached — is being challenged to step up this week from a communication standpoint.

Having a non-middle linebacker organize the front seven might be a bit different for this Tennessee coaching staff during its tenure in Knoxville, but it’s nothing new to the Tennessee program. Several outside ‘backers — including Ryan Karl in recent history — have gotten things aligned pre-snap from a similar weakside or strongside position.

“We will rely on Jalen Reeves-Maybin a little bit more,” Jones said. “Obviously he has experience at the second level of our defense, so we’ll rely on him a little bit more.”

McNeil, whose communication this season has been much-improved, also will be leaned on a bit more heavily that he would be with the always-reliable Randolph playing next to him.

But Kelly has to step up, too. And Jones didn’t deny that.

“T.K. has done a good job,” Jones said. “When he came in [against Kentucky], when Brian had to leave the game and exit the game, he did a good job when he came in. T.K.’s a very smart individual. He puts his work in. He does his due diligence.

“I don’t think communication will be a problem. I expect T.K. to really step up and perform well.”
Tennessee junior defensive end and outside linebacker Curt Maggitt (Photo: Knoxville News Sentinel)
Tennessee sophomore cornerback Cameron Sutton said he “definitely” had confidence in Kelly to do his job before and after snaps.

“It’s no different than Randolph getting hurt and then T.K. has to step in,” Sutton said. “We’re looking at it like that. T.K.’s gonna be ready to play.”

Mizzou, like more and more offenses in this era, operates nearly exclusively out of a hurry-up, no-huddle spread system, which will make communication even more of a challenge for a team most likely having to play at least half of a game without two of its most experienced and most communicative players.

Sutton said he wasn’t concerned, though, and that he didn’t think his teammates were, either.

“Communication’s a big part of what everybody does,” Sutton said. “We’ve just got to do a better job of just communicating even more. We have to play for each other, get everybody lined up, do our jobs, do our assignments and let everything fell into place. We’ve just got to go out there and make plays, limit their offense’s explosive plays.

“They have a dynamic offense, and they’re able to make quick plays, so we’ve got to limit that and just play our style of game.”

Senior defensive tackle Jordan Williams said he also was confident in his coaches and teammates to put a good plan in order and execute Lebron James 10 sale that plan against the Tigers.

Of course, Williams added that as a defensive tackle, he doesn’t have a tough job from an understanding-the-scheme standpoint. He admittedly puts his hand in the ground until the ball is snapped and then sticks his face into the middle Lebron James 11 Shoes of the line of scrimmage. Most have to make more pre-snap adjustments than that.

“We’ve got to attack it just like we do every other week,” Williams said. “I mean, it’s another game, another opponent, and we’ve just got to prepare like we [normally] would. This is just another opportunity to play football.

“I mean, I’m sure the coaches will get who they need to get in there. But the way our defense is set up, man, it’s just the next man up.”

Maggitt — who along with best friend A.J. Johnson is Tennessee’s heart-and-soul leader — said he was comfortable taking his leadership and communication to an even-higher level if the team needed it, and that he believes the Vols will “find a way” to handle things on that end against the Tigers.

“The communication on the field will be the same,” Maggitt said. “We have the same expectation for all the guys, no matter what position and what depth they’re at. The communication will be at an all-time high.”

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