Campbell steps up

"He’s one of those quarterbacks that looks at the receiver he’s throwing to the whole time," UT strong safety Corey Campbell said of Alabama quarterback Spencer Pennington. "He was looking my way and I just felt like I had to step up and make a big play."

The big play was an interception with 46 seconds left to play that sealed the game for the Vols.

"He wasn’t like the quarterback they had last year," Campbell said. "I felt like he would come in and make a lot of mistakes. When you make mistakes, you have to pay for them."

Last year, Alabama laid 43 points on Tennessee in a five-overtime game with Brodie Croyle at quarterback. This year, Pennington and the Tide only managed 13 points against UT.

Campbell credited defensive coordinator John Chavis’s defensive call, Raven, for putting him in the position to intercept the Pennington pass. UT’s Raven coverage consists of a safety over top of bump coverage by the cornerback.

Campbell was one of two sophomores competing to replace junior Brandon Johnson at strong safety. Johnson was suspended last week. Jarod Parrish started over Campbell against Alabama.

Campbell was involved in UT’s extra-defensive package in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Campbell took over for Parrish in UT’s base defense. Campbell said he played 3-5 series to complete the game.

"I always feel like it’s a competition," Campbell said. "In everything I do, I just try to compete. That’s how it is."

Campbell was expected to step in as UT’s starting free safety after the departure of four-year starter Rashad Baker. Last season, Campbell had two interceptions in place of Baker who missed three games due to injury.

Campbell was poised to be UT’s starting free safety for the foreseeable future. Instead, Campbell was benched after starting UT’s season opener against UNLV. Campbell’s fortunes changed when he changed his approach to football.

"At the beginning of the season, I was doing a lot of thinking," Campbell said of his early season struggles. "After the last game I felt like I needed to let everything go in my life and just relax and be the best I can be.

"At certain points, I got down on myself after games when I wasn’t playing at all. I learned to never give up and never be down on yourself. If that happens, you’re just going to get worse every day."

Campbell said a conversation with his ever-optimistic mother turned the tide for him two weeks ago. With the new approach, Campbell seems poised to regain the promise of last season.

"I feel like it’s a big possibility I’ll be a starter next week at safety," Campbell said. "I feel like I’ll step up and be a better person that I was last year and help this team win a championship."

Never too early: According to Scout.com, seniors Michael Munoz and Kevin Burnett are teetering on the edge of the first round. Munoz is the third highest rated offensive lineman at 29.

Burnett is ranked 30th. He is the second highest rated outside linebacker. There are 32 picks in the first wound of the NFL Draft which is held in April.