Tennessee Football: 6 Breakout Players to Watch for Remainder of 2015 Season
Several Tennessee football players are becoming usual suspects on the stat sheet for coach Butch Jones and a Volunteers team that is finally beginning to play like it's capable.
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs, running backs Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara, linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, defensive end Derek Barnett, cornerback Cameron Sutton and safety Brian Randolph are always going to load up on numbers as the most dependable Vols.
But what about the emerging stars? Who are some of the guys on the fringe of becoming key role players?
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These are the youngsters who have surpassed people saying, "I hope [Player X] can begin to live up to expectations." No, these are the players who already are or look as if they're getting ready to play integral roles in helping the Vols turn the current 4-4 record into an 8-4 campaign and a quality bowl berth.
The criteria here is first- or second-year players who are really starting to catch on to the college game. With such a young group of Vols that Jones compiled, Tennessee has several who fit the mold.
Let's take a look at the handful of Vols about to burst onto the scene.
Darrin Kirkland Jr.
It's hard to stand out in such a promising group of freshmen, but the first-year starting middle linebacker from Indianapolis fits the bill.
He has as high of a ceiling as any freshman linebacker in the Southeastern Conference. Though there are a few reminders that he's a young pup, there are also times when you see what he can do on the field and marvel at Kirkland's ability.
With each start, he looks more and more like he belongs. Early in the year, walk-on Colton Jumper started over him because Kirkland had a difficult time performing the all-important pre-snap chores required by such a demanding position. Tennessee's defense suffered without his athleticism.
But once he got on the field, things still didn't come easily. Kirkland flew around everywhere, sometimes without purpose or direction. His stats suffered because of it, and UT struggled in gap control.
Not anymore.
Now that Kirkland is comfortable, he's performing. The light began to come on at Florida, where he had five tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. Despite a struggle against Georgia, the youngster has at least six tackles in three of his past four games.
He talked to GoVols247's Wes Rucker before the Kentucky game about his emergence. Then, he went out against the Wildcats and got an interception and a 26-yard return.
"A lot of my film study, a lot of study of the back end and knowing really my responsibility in coverage as well as up front, and learning what everybody else has to do, instead of just myself, that’s really helped me find my place throughout the defense and make more plays that way. Really just my mental focus, my mental capacity of the game, understanding the game and a lot bigger overview. I’m taking my preparation throughout the week a lot more serious, and that’s helped me prepare for the bigger teams we’ve played.
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Kirkland has played against better opponents than what remains on UT's schedule, but he's going to be a major part that determines whether the Vols can finish undefeated.
Chance Hall
The Vols recruited players in the 2015 class they feel will be the bookend offensive tackles of the future.
One of them—6'4", 318-pound true freshman right tackle Hall—is a bookend offensive tackle of the present. Though star recruit Drew Richmond has yet to find the field, he'll be relied upon to start next year. But Hall developed a little more quickly.
All he's done since taking over for the injured Brett Kendrick in the Georgia game is impress everybody.
Yes, he got beat by Alabama's Ryan Anderson on the Crimson Tide's game-clinching sack-fumble, but those are the lumps you take playing a true freshman. For the most part, Hall has been solid. At times, he's been spectacular.
Blessed with ideal size and athleticism to play the position in a zone-blocking scheme, Hall recovered from a torn Achilles suffered during his senior year of high school in time to play right away at UT. The Vols got a steal when they lured the 3-star prospect and 75th-ranked tackle from the Washington, D.C. area.
Now, it looks like he'll be an anchor on a surprisingly stellar offensive front for the next few years. He should stay in the starting lineup for the rest of the year.
Justin Martin
Perhaps no Vol has made as big of an impact once he got onto the field as a starter as the junior college transfer cornerback.
With incumbent starter Emmanuel Moseley's surprising, season-long struggles in man coverage killing Tennessee on the back end, the Vols needed a defensive savior. They inserted the talented Martin, and he has provided instant-impact improvement.
Nearly everybody in the SEC coveted the 6'1", 183-pound sophomore defensive back, and he came to Knoxville, staying close to his Antioch, Tennessee home. He was injured in fall camp and missed some significant time, but since starting against Alabama, he's played extremely well.
In that game, he wound up with seven tackles, and though he made some mistakes, he also made some big plays, including breaking up a two-point conversion attempt from Jake Coker.
"He did great," Randolph told the Chattanooga Times Free Press' Patrick Brown after the Alabama game. "He earned those reps. He earned them in practice. He got hurt early in camp, so that kind of set him back a little bit. But he's been showing up every day in practice, knowing the game plan. (He's) very smart so he picked up the defense very fast, so that's probably why he got more reps today."
Against Kentucky, he was in lockdown mode. The Wildcats couldn't get anything past him, as he played on an extremely high level. For now, Martin has a corner spot locked down. With his size and athleticism, it may be difficult to pry it away.
Josh Malone
So, this is what all the fuss was about.
A season ago, the 6'3", 197-pound receiver who was Tennessee's highest-rated commitment in the 2014 recruiting class really struggled when he was on the field. He hit the proverbial freshman wall, and on a receiving corps full of injuries, he was a nonfactor down the stretch.
While adjusting to the college game, Malone played too soft at times. At others, he simply struggled to consistently run routes and catch passes.
The majority of those struggles are now in the rear-view mirror. He leads the Vols with 23 catches for 315 yards and two touchdowns this year. He became the only UT receiver with more than 100 yards in a game with his performance against Kentucky.
Though the numbers are far from eye-popping, Malone has become Tennessee's most consistent target, and his relationship with Dobbs is really paying off.
With Kentucky leading 14-10 in the second quarter, Malone and Dobbs may have made the play that saved UT's season with a 75-yard scoring strike that flipped the momentum for good.
"It was a huge momentum turn," Tennessee senior offensive tackle Kyler Kerbyson told Rucker. "That really just turned the whole game around for us. It was really huge."
It's even bigger that Malone is becoming reliable. If the Vols start having some receivers live up to their massive potential, this offense can really thrive.
Micah Abernathy
This is a bit of a wild card to put on the list, but after his performance against Kentucky, the true freshman could start to see increased reps at nickelback.
Junior Malik Foreman's inconsistent play all year has opened a door. The former 6'0", 193-pound 4-star Abernathy looks prepared to burst through it and bust that door off the hinges.
He's an extremely athletic and versatile player who could wind up growing into a safety down the road, or he also could move out to the boundary once Sutton goes pro. For now, he may wind up being UT's answer down the stretch at a very important position.
Jones was really impressed by what Abernathy did against Kentucky and how he's come on throughout the year, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel's Troy Provost-Heron.
"Micah Abernathy is one of those freshman that has continued to get better and better and better and you can see it in his style of play. You can really see it in his overall playing speed. We always talk about not letting the mind tie the feet up, and he’s becoming more and more comfortable. I’ve been really, really proud of him and his continued growth and development. Just like every week, he’ll compete with Malik for the nickel spot and we’ll see how that goes.
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That doesn't sound like words reserved for a player destined for mop-up duty.
Ever since the preseason injury to starting nickelback Rashaan Gaulden ended his season, the Vols were left with a major void at the position. Foreman hasn't been bad, but he also has given up some plays. Abernathy's ceiling is higher, and UT may give him an extended look.
He's the kind of player that can be valuable at several different positions throughout his career.
Kahlil McKenzie
Tennessee's most touted freshman hasn't been the most impressive on the field this year for the Vols, as he's had to get adjusted to the college game.
McKenzie sat out his senior season of high school, and he had some conditioning issues once he got to Knoxville, but now that he's getting on the field more, he's made an impact in several contests.
Though the 6'3", 344-pound defensive tackle has yet to become an every-down lineman, he's beginning to be relied upon more and more. UT needs to get him some more reps in the remaining games. His sheer size and brute force can help him be a major force against the run.
"Kahlil's making plays," UT defensive line coach Steve Stripling told Brown a couple of weeks ago. "It's a funny thing about D-linemen. Sometimes they'll get a lot of snaps and make no plays, and sometimes a guy will go in there for 30 snaps and get five tackles. That's what I like about him. He ends up being around the football."
Still, how many plays McKenzie is on the field is normally dictated by what UT wants to do defensively. Against Alabama and Kentucky, UT employed more of a "rabbit package," where it tried to get smaller, quicker linemen on the field.
When that happens, obviously McKenzie stays on the sideline. But that shouldn't impede his progress or his long-term prognosis for this defense. He's expected to be the centerpiece of that line for the next couple of years.
It wouldn't be surprising at all to see him have a breakout game sooner rather than later.
All stats gathered from UTSports.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.
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