Volunteer Country

Tennessee Senior Defensive Back Receives Invite to Senior Bowl

The Vols' senior defensive back Alontae Taylor has officially accepted an invitation to the 2022 Senior Bowl.

Jack Foster

The Reese's Senior Bowl is played every year in Mobile, Alabama, where various seniors from around the nation come to display their talents before the NFL Draft. With multiple Tennessee seniors eligible to participate in the 2022 Senior Bowl, Volunteer Country will keep a keen eye on which Vols will head to Mobile in February. 

The first Vol to accept an invitation to the Senior Bowl is defensive back Alontae Taylor. (See tweet below)

Taylor is a true senior and has led the Tennessee secondary this season. The Manchester, Tennessee, native has 54 tackles, seven pass deflections, one forced fumble and two interceptions, one of them being a pick-six. Taylor is fifth on the team in tackles this season and second in interceptions behind Jaylen McCollough. 

For more on the 2022 Reese's Senior Bowl, click here. 

In the 2021 Senior Bowl, VFLs Trey Smith and Josh Palmer participated. Smith logged snaps on the offensive line, and Palmer shined, as the Canada native had two catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. (See below)

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has touched on what he will miss most about his first batch of seniors at Tennessee.

"They faced adversity and ran right into it. Never losing faith and just continuing to compete and grow. I think all the uncertainty of last offseason, December and January, to a new coaching staff arriving, them buying into it, a lot of them being great leaders inside of our program, been instrumental in how we have grown. To me, when I think about this group, it’s their ability to face adversity and step right through the fire.”

Taylor's career stat line and honors: 

-156 tackles, 5 TFLs, 4 interceptions, 18 pass deflections, 3 forced fumbles and 0.5 sacks

-2021 Preseason All-SEC Third Team (Coaches & Media)

-2020-21 SEC Football Leadership Council Vice Chair

-2020 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll

-2019 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll

The Vols are likely to turn to Warren Burrell, Brandon Turnage and Christian Charles at cornerback, assuming Taylor leaves for the 2022 NFL Draft next Spring. 

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Jack Foster
JACK FOSTER

Jack is a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media. Jack grew up in Paris, Tennessee, but now spends the majority of his time in Knoxville doubling as a student and sports journalist for Volunteer Country. Jack has been a sports junkie since he was a young kid and always watched NFL football with his dad on Sundays. Jack still follows the NFL religiously, as he is an avid fantasy football player. Jack started with Volunteer Country in May of 2021 and has since helped provide full coverage of football, baseball and men's and women's basketball. Jack also works as a recurring member of WUTK's Rock Solid Sports show on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he also serves as head sports producer of The Volunteer Channel's Vol News, a student-run show at the University. When Jack is not watching or covering sports, find him on the golf course or back home spending time with his parents, younger sister and friends. Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram by clicking "Twitter" and "Instagram" to see all of his work with Volunteer Country as well as student media.

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