Tennessee Football: Jalen Reeves-Maybin Shaping Up to Be Breakout Star

Watching Jalen Reeves-Maybin roam the field from sideline to sideline Sunday night was like opening a time portal into the glory days of Tennessee's defense.

The 6'1", 230-pound linebacker finished his first career start in Neyland Stadium with a team-high 10 tackles against Utah State, including credit for half a tackle for loss.

Reeves-Maybin—or "JRM," as he's known at UT—personified the Volunteers' speed revival throughout coordinator John Jancek's unit, and his play drew plenty of praise from high places.

Though it was just one game against hardly SEC-caliber competition, Reeves-Maybin's performance was still impressive.

He was one of the players who helped UT neutralize drives, smothering USU Heisman hopeful quarterback Chuckie Keeton before he got to the edges.

Credit:247Sports

The speed and athleticism he displayed will translate well when the big boys come up on the schedule, and Vols fans have every reason to believe the sophomore from Clarksville, Tennessee, has all the trappings to be the next great linebacker on Rocky Top.

When asked about his breakout performance, Reeves-Maybin displayed the type of mentality you want in any player. He is eager to improve and hungry to do more.

Reeves-Maybin has been preparing himself for this opportunity to break out since committing to former UT coach Derek Dooley over Ole Miss and others, arriving in Knoxville as a mid-term enrollee prior to the 2013 season.

As a recruit, 247Sports listed JRM as a 200-pound safety. He carved a niche as a special teams dynamo as a true freshman in 2013, leading the team with 11 tackles in that role, according to his official bio.

A flair for the highlight-reel play followed him, too. Reeves-Maybin was the player whose rousing punt block against Georgia helped UT surge into a late lead against the Dawgs.

A move to linebacker midseason in 2013 gave Reeves-Maybin the clearest path to playing, and he added 20 pounds this offseason to get into his peak physical condition to start at weak-side linebacker in UT's defense.

Against Utah State, he looked comfortable in the scheme and confident in his playmaking ability. At times, he shook off the shackles of inexperience and looked downright dynamic.

He has come a long way since a season ago.

Nine of those tackles came in the first half before UT began rotating in backups, so he was at his best when he was surrounded by UT's defensive stalwarts.

Reeves-Maybin's performance hearkened back to the days when current LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis led the Vols defense that was rife with elite athletes.

It was common in the late 1990s and early 2000s for UT to take safeties and bulk them up into linebackers. Players such as Kevin Burnett, Eddie Moore and Eric Westmoreland made the move, and it translated into all-conference careers in orange and white.

They parlayed that position change into NFL careers, too.

JRM could be on his way to the same type of future if he continues to develop.

It's only one game, but the Vols have been high on his potential since he arrived on campus. In his first start, he certainly looked the part.

Even his hard-to-impress position coach, Tommy Thigpen, had high praise for Reeves-Maybin when he was talking with Volquest.com's Rob Lewis and Paul Fortenberry (subscription required):

"

He communicated the way he needs to, played really well in space…It's easy to forget sometimes that he's a sophomore and just made his first start at linebacker. Came in as a safety, moved to linebacker midseason…I'm pleased with where he's at. When he moved over last year he was kind of a fish out of water but now when he comes in he's one of the leaders in our room.

"

That translated to being a leader on the field, and showing out is something difficult to do when you're lined up beside tackle-gobbling middle linebacker A.J. Johnson.

When the live bullets started flying around, so did Reeves-Maybin.

As debuts go, it couldn't have gone much better.

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics gathered from CFBStats.com and quotes as well as observations obtained firsthand.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter here:

@Brad_Shepard