Jeremy Pruitt Provides Update on Coveted Freshman DB Lawrence's Progress

Jeremy Pruitt Provides Update on Coveted Freshman DB Lawrence's Progress

Tennessee's secondary has had its fair share of ups and downs in this early season, but they have made enough plays to help Tennessee get out to a 2-0 start in 2020. True Freshman, Doneiko Slaughter, got his first start against South Carolina, but true Freshman, Keshawn Lawrence, has yet to see as much time on the field as a defensive back. 

Following Wednesday's practice, Pruitt fielded a question about Lawrence's progression: 

"Keshawn is a guy that was affected really by the fact that we had a lot of people out during fall camp. We started him off at safety, and there was a run there, probably for two weeks, that we didn't have any corners, so we moved him to corner. He's done a really good job at it, and we don't want to move him back again. He's doing a nice job. He continues to work hard at practice, brings a great attitude every single day. He's very coachable, got really good ball skills, plays with toughness, so we're excited about him, and as long as he keeps working like that, he'll obviously get an opportunity to play a bigger role on our team as the season goes."

Lawrence has made at least a couple of appearances on special teams this far, but his versatility should allow him to see the field as the season goes on. 

Lawrence was one of the highest-rated prospects in Tennessee's 2020 signing class, as he was a consensus top-125 prospect on a national level. He starred as a two-way player at Ensworth in Nashville, Tenn., and he was arguably the best return man in the state in 2019. Lawrence made Sports Center Top 10 during the season as well. 

Tennessee will travel to Athens, Ga. to take on the third-ranked Bulldogs for a 3:30 p.m. ET CBS kick-off. We will see if Lawrence gets more of an opportunity against Georgia.