Anthony Poindexter isn’t sugarcoating the challenge Tennessee is about to face.
With the Volunteers set to meet Alabama, Poindexter said the Crimson Tide bring exactly the kind of test that forces a defense to be sharp on every snap. He pointed directly to Alabama’s passing game, calling out the wideouts and the quarterback’s ability to create problems even after a play breaks down.
“Yeah, you’re gonna have to cover. Obviously, they’ve got elite wide receivers and the quarterback is elite.
He can extend plays. But when you watch the tape, he can extend plays and throw accurate balls on the run.
So he’s gonna be a challenge, very talented player. And we’re gonna have to have our A game,” Poindexter said.
Poindexter also liked what he’s seen from Tennessee’s defense overall, but he made it clear there are still areas that need tightening up, especially in the tackling department.
“I think they’re playing together well, they’re communicating well, they’re taking the game plans well. Obviously each week, I think we gotta continue to constantly talk about wrapping in our tackles, we leaky a little bit on some tackles.
But they’re playing hard, they’re showing up every week trying to win the game and trying to execute the game plan. So we just gotta keep getting better each week,” Poindexter said.
The matchup carries extra weight for Poindexter, who said he once took an official visit to Tennessee during his senior year of high school. Even then, he didn’t fully grasp what this game meant. That changed fast once he got around the program this week.
“Well, I actually took an official visit here to Tennessee my senior year in high school, but I really didn’t know much about the rivalry. But what I’m finding out this week, this is a real rivalry. It’s one of the biggest rivalries in all of the country and playing for the Cigar,” Poindexter said.
He also praised the return of Qua, saying the presence of a player like that matters in a big way after Tevis Metcalf stepped in two weeks ago and did a good job.
“It’s great. I mean, Tevis (Metcalf) came in and did a phenomenal job two weeks ago.
No, but having a player like Qua back, I mean, he’s a talented player. And having him back last week, he made some impactful plays in the game.
And he helped us win,” Poindexter said.
Poindexter pointed to Tennessee’s road win over Arkansas as another reminder that teams can’t afford a sleepy stretch and expect to walk away with a win. Tennessee started flat, gave up no points in the first half, then finished strong in the fourth quarter.
“You’re on the road, you gotta bring your own energy. You play that first half like we did, and give up no points.
We came out flat, and kudos to the kids. They regrouped and played much better in the fourth quarter.
But when you’re playing against good teams, and Arkansas was a good team, you can’t have lows in the game like that for a quarter and expect to win the game. But kudos to the kids; they bounced back in the fourth quarter, made the plays when we had to make them.
And we came out with a win,” Poindexter said.
He closed by stressing that Tennessee still has room to grow across the board. The defense, offense, and special teams all have details to clean up, and he said the team hasn’t come close to its peak yet.
“They just got to keep getting better, man. Each week, we watch the tape, and we find two comments.
There’s a lot of stuff on tape that (Xavier Gilliam) and (Dejuan Lane) can do better. Our whole team, offense, defense, special teams.
So it’s always a growing process throughout the season and trying to get better. We haven’t peaked yet as a team.
So we got a lot of room to get better and grow. You gotta come to practice each week and each day ready to get better,” Poindexter said.
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What makes the situation worth watching is the cast around Bowman, including his high school quarterback Crew Jenkins and Ole Miss commits who are part of the effort to sway him. Tennessee has held onto the commitment for now, but with Early National Signing Day still ahead, this is one of those recruiting stories that could keep developing before the Vols get to lock everything in. [Read more 🡒]