Tennessee Senior Defensive Back Receives Invite to Senior Bowl
The Reese's Senior Bowl is played every year in Mobile, Alabama, where various seniors from around the nation come to display their talents before the NFL Draft. With multiple Tennessee seniors eligible to participate in the 2022 Senior Bowl, Volunteer Country will keep a keen eye on which Vols will head to Mobile in February.
The first Vol to accept an invitation to the Senior Bowl is defensive back Alontae Taylor. (See tweet below)
Taylor is a true senior and has led the Tennessee secondary this season. The Manchester, Tennessee, native has 54 tackles, seven pass deflections, one forced fumble and two interceptions, one of them being a pick-six. Taylor is fifth on the team in tackles this season and second in interceptions behind Jaylen McCollough.
For more on the 2022 Reese's Senior Bowl, click here.
In the 2021 Senior Bowl, VFLs Trey Smith and Josh Palmer participated. Smith logged snaps on the offensive line, and Palmer shined, as the Canada native had two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. (See below)
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has touched on what he will miss most about his first batch of seniors at Tennessee.
"They faced adversity and ran right into it. Never losing faith and just continuing to compete and grow. I think all the uncertainty of last offseason, December and January, to a new coaching staff arriving, them buying into it, a lot of them being great leaders inside of our program, been instrumental in how we have grown. To me, when I think about this group, it’s their ability to face adversity and step right through the fire.”
Taylor's career stat line and honors:
-156 tackles, 5 TFLs, 4 interceptions, 18 pass deflections, 3 forced fumbles and 0.5 sacks
-2021 Preseason All-SEC Third Team (Coaches & Media)
-2020-21 SEC Football Leadership Council Vice Chair
-2020 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll
-2019 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll
The Vols are likely to turn to Warren Burrell, Brandon Turnage and Christian Charles at cornerback, assuming Taylor leaves for the 2022 NFL Draft next Spring.
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