The Auburn Tigers are making their first trip to Knoxville since 2013. One current player who is very familiar with Neyland Stadium is wide receiver Chas Nimrod.
He played three years for the Volunteers before transferring to USF, then to Auburn. Nimrod’s position coach, Kodi Burns, says he can make an explosive play at anytime, anywhere on the field.
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“Chas can really stretch the field vertically,” Burns said. “We felt like we had an opportunity (Saturday) one-on-one against the corner to take advantage of it and we did just that. Chas is a multiple position guy. He can play inside and outside. Trying to find different ways to move him around and get him the ball.”
For the third time in four games, the Auburn running attack was slow out of the blocks. It was also another game where quarterback Byrum Brown had the most success running the football.
However, Head Coach Alex Golesh felt the running backs got going more in the second half, especially on the final drive. Burns talked about how good perimeter blocking, specifically from Keshaun Singleton, helped the Tigers ice the game against Vanderbilt.
“On that play to really close out the game, (Singleton) does a tremendous job of the detail,” Burns said. “Going to fit up the mike linebacker and really when you talk about the detail this day in college football you can’t just go in there and kill shot the guy. He did a great job of letting up, blocking him off, boxing him out and now you see Cobb hit the perimeter on the run which was big for us in that game.”
For the second-straight week, the Auburn defense will be going up against a freshman quarterback. Golesh told reporters Monday that Tennessee quarterback Fraizon Brandon has a good arm and can make plays with his feet.
Golesh also said the missed tackles by the defense must improve to keep the Volunteer offense at bay.
“It will be a big challenge for our defense to make sure we are able to contain him and be able to stop what these guys are doing,” Golesh said. “They will force you to tackle in space. They will force you to tackle on the perimeter. They’ve got as real of speed as there is on the outside.”
On the defensive side, the Volunteers are led by first-year veteran defensive coordinator Jim Kowles.
Golesh knows Tennessee will try and affect Brown early and often, adding it is imperative to keep him protected and establish the run game early.
Burns spoke about what his receivers could see from the Volunteers secondary.
“They are really good on the perimeter,” Burns said. “The corners are physical, longer athletes. Good at safety, physical. Really sound. Don’t give up explosive plays and get after the quarterback. We got our hands full.”
Auburn is going for its second win in a row against the Volunteers. In 2020, the Tigers defeated Tennessee 30-17 inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn has won the last three meetings in Knoxville, including the 2013 SEC championship team. Kickoff from Neyland Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. CST.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
