6. Jaylen McCollough, DB
A freshman who caught the attention of Vol fans everywhere in the spring was Jaylen McCollough. The safety out of Austell, Georgia had a strong close to spring practices and capped that off with two interceptions in the Orange & White Game.
This fall, McCollough hasn’t yet pulled ahead of others on the depth chart in the secondary, but he’s proving to have a lot of versatility in the defensive backfield. Not only can he play at one of the two main safety spots, but he looks in line to potentially contribute at the STAR position in Jeremy Pruitt’s defense as well.
With Nigel Warrior and Trevon Flowers likely manning the two main safety spots, McCollough probably won’t see a lot of playing time at either of those positions. But the STAR spot is up for grabs, and McCollough has the type of attitude and play that makes him very dangerous on special teams. Even if he doesn’t make a ton of contributions as a true defender, McCollough could definitely impact a game on special teams. Think of Jalen Reeves-Maybin as a true freshman for a recent example.
