Without Hadden, where does Tennessee turn?

With Tennessee defensive back Kamal Hadden announcing on his instagram page that he is finished for the season due to a shoulder injury he suffered last week at Alabama, defensive coordinator Tim Banks is tasked with replacing his most productive defensive back. 

Hadden leads the team with six PBU’s and three interceptions, including a ‘pick-six’ against South Carolina at the end of the first half which changed the game. 

Hadden has been thrown at 33 times, has given up 12 receptions and he was flagged once this season. 

So what does Tennessee’s cornerback situation look like now? The good news is the Vols have depth there and it’s experienced depth. 

Doneiko Slaughter, who played his first game at cornerback in the Kentucky game last year and forced a turnover, is getting healthier after missing three games with a foot injury. Slaughter played 21 snaps last week at Alabama and his end zone PBU late in the second quarter resulted in a Jaylen McCollough interception that Tennessee turned into points and a 20-7 lead. 

Slaughter should get the start this week for Hadden opposite of Gabe Jeudy-Lally. It will be Slaughter’s first start since the Austin-Peay game. Behind Slaughter and Jeudy-Lally is Brandon Turnage who moved from star back to corner following the Florida game. Turnage has been in the rotation at corner. He played 19 snaps a week ago after playing 8 snaps against South Carolina and Texas A&M. 

“We went into (the last game) trying to play four (corners),” defensive backs coach Willie Martinez said. “We wanted to play at least four to five guys at the corner position, at least four, and we’re still in that mindset. But again, as the games go, it’s just the hot man stays in so to speak. But we’re gonna continue to play as many guys we can. You gotta be able to do that in this day and age man, with all the offenses and how talented they are and all the tempos. And that’s been good for us because we’ve been able to not only give the reps these guys that they deserve, but it’s also kept us fresh in the fourth quarter. And it’s just like our (defensive) line.

Warren Burrell is a veteran corner who has a ton of experience who moves up the depth chart. Burrell played two snaps last week against Alabama and didn’t play against South Carolina or Texas A&M. 

Tennessee has a trio of freshman defensive backs who were highly recruited. Rickey Gibson, Jr. has played 42 snaps this season in mop up duty. Martinez likes the growth of his youth at defensive back.

“It is the last great motivator, right?” Martinez said of competiton.  “I mean, when they see each other, push each other, they’re talented and they know that they gotta step it up each and every day and try and make it a competition every day. We just had it out there today. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are workdays and we call it Tough Tuesday for a reason. And only your best is good enough, you know what I mean? So it’s actually, you might have had a great day yesterday, man. It’s a new day (today). And I think the mindset, that’s the kind of mindset that everybody has. And to have that competition has only made the guys better. And it’s obviously healthy young guys. They’re doing really well on special teams and fighting for reps on defense.”

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