Hadden, McDonald Giving Vols Secondary Exactly What They Need

Kamal Hadden, Tamarion McDonald Giving Tennessee Vols Football Secondary Exactly What They Need Before Matchup Against Pitt

The secondary was the most significant question mark entering the 2022 football season for the Volunteers.

The Vols secondary had no interceptions through the first two weeks last season, but, thanks to Tamarion McDonald and Kamal Hadden, the Vols got not one but two in the season opener.

Despite the interceptions against Ball State, the DB room is still likely the biggest question for Tennessee's defense, but you can't get off to a better start to the season than getting a pick on the first play.

Earning the starting role at the STAR position, Tamarion McDonald made an impact early with the interception on the first play.

Great effort by Aaron Beasley on the first play of the game, which resulted in a Tamarion McDonald interception. #gbo #vols pic.twitter.com/4KFxx54rPG

— Freak (@vol_freak) September 3, 2022

After earning praise throughout the offseason from Willie Martinez, Josh Heupel and Tim Banks, McDonald delivered in the second start of his career (first since freshman year), leading to more positive words from Tim Banks.

"I thought he did a good job. For the most part, he was very consistent with what we asked him to do," Banks said Tuesday of McDonald's Week 1 performance.

"From man coverage, he graded out somewhere around 80 percent. In zone principles, his eyes were in the right places – getting the interception early – I thought he did a really good job considering that was only the second start of his whole career. We're pleased so far with what he's brought to the table," Banks said.

The first play of the game for Tennessee's defense was arguably the best highlight for the unit, along with the other takeaway of the game, which was a Kamal Hadden interception.

This is Kamal Hadden’s INT. Pay attention to both safeties. Both drive down to the flats with the corners sinking off, like an inverted Cover 2. First time — and only time — that UT ran this to this point. Tricky when 1 safety has been rolling down to play 1-High all game! pic.twitter.com/tqDz9iKEN2

— Austin Burlage (@CoachBurlage) September 4, 2022

Hadden joined McDonald in recording a pick. Like McDonald, Hadden's first game performance backs up the praise he's received from coaches entering his second year in the program.

"I think Kamal is really coming along," Banks said of Hadden's performance. "He's a kid that hasn't played a ton of football – obviously [played] at the junior college and he was banged up a little bit last year – but we like the direction that he's headed. He's maturing, understanding the whole complexity of our defense and where he needs to be. He's always been a tremendous athlete. Now, it's just understanding the finer details. He's worked really, really hard for that during the offseason, and you guys started to see a little bit of a glimpse of that Thursday night."

Hadden did not start at corner against Ball State, as Warren Burrell and Christian Charles started opposite each other, with McDonald, McCollough and Flowers filling out the secondary.

That didn't stop Hadden from making plays, though, and it should be easy for Hadden to continue even if he's not starting, as Banks and Martinez love to rotate quite a bit in the secondary.

"We tried to rotate guys early, not just at the end of the game, particularly on the back end," Banks said on Tuesday. "That has not necessarily been a thing that we did in the past. You saw Wesley Walker out there a ton, and we obviously played a ton of corners."

The rotation saw many guys get on the field, but none impressed more than McDonald and Hadden. None particularly had a bad game, but Burrell wasn't the sharpest on his coverage against Ball State wideouts, and Charles had the typical ebbs you'd expect a first-time starter to have.

"With Charles, you could see that was his first time out on an island," Banks said. "Once he started to settle down within the game, I thought he started to play better. He's a tremendous athlete as we've already documented, but playing corner is new for him. He's getting better. By the end of the game, I thought he was really comfortable with what we were asking him to do."

"It was a little bit uneventful for Burrell," Banks added on the longest tenured starter among Volunteer cornerbacks. "He did exactly what he needed to do. (Ball State) only challenged him a few times, and he was up for the challenge most of those reps. We feel like Burrell had a really good camp, we thought he did his job Thursday night, and he'll obviously have even bigger shoes to fill, or to play at, going into this next venue. I know he's excited about the challenge, and so are we."

There's reason to be optimistic about Burrell. He's another year matured, and he got healthy enough over the summer to have ample time for preparation.

However, there's reason to be pessimistic. There were plays to be made for Burrell against Ball State, in particular, one throw from the Cardinals quarterback John Paddock that could've been intercepted, but the senior ultimately had a quiet game. He didn't make any mistakes, per say, but Tennessee will need some big things out of Burrell in 2022 as their top cornerback, especially once SEC play arrives.

Regardless if Burrell has some lows this season, though, the Week 1 outing from McDonald and Hadden is encouraging for Tennessee's defensive back depth, which may need to deliver for the Vols when they take on the reigning ACC Champs.

Burrell and the rest of the secondary will have a much tougher test this weekend when the Big Orange go north to take on Pitt this Saturday in Acrisure Stadium.

Banks will undoubtedly ready his defense for Saturday's Top 25 matchup, claiming he and his unit are excited about the opportunity.

"We're excited about the opportunity. We have a tremendous amount of respect for their program. We're excited to get down there and get to it."

Video and quotes courtesy UT Athletics Football Communications 

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