Josh Heupel updates the status of Doneiko Slaughter for Tennessee-UTSA game
No. 23 Tennessee’s secondary should get a boost Saturday afternoon with the apparent return of Doneiko Slaughter. Head coach Josh Heupel was asked about Slaughter’s availability on Thursday and said the senior defensive back would be available against visiting UTSA.
“Yeah, he should be available for this football game,” Heupel said during the Thursday press conference, his final media availability of the week.
Tennessee (2-1) and UTSA (1-2) are scheduled for a 4 p.m. Eastern Time start at Neyland Stadium, with SEC Network carrying the television broadcast.
Slaughter did not play in the Vols’ 29-16 loss at Florida Saturday night. Heupel didn’t address specifically after the game why Slaughter was out, other than saying he simply “wasn’t available.”
Tennessee was also missing center Cooper Mays for a third straight game and didn’t have redshirt junior offensive lineman Gerald Mincey in the rotation at right tackle, where he had spent the first two weeks of the season.
Mincey, who was reportedly cited for simple possession on September 13, played on special teams at Florida.
“Doneiko wasn’t available,” Heupel said Saturday night during his postgame press conference, “and Mincy, we just made a decision to go with JJ (Crawford)” at right tackle.
Heupel said during Thursday’s press conference that Mincey would be available against UTSA while Mays will again be a game-time decision. Mays dressed for each of the last two games, but was limited in warmups before ultimately being held out.
“Gerald has been with us all week long,” Heupel said. “He’ll play on Saturday. Cooper’s been with us all week long too. He was last week. At the end of the day, he’s a little bit of a game-time decision. It’s kind of based on how he’s feeling at that point.”
Mincey, while rotating at right tackle with Jeremiah Crawford over the first two games of the season, played 39 snaps against Virginia in Week 1 and 36 last week against Austin Peay.
Slaughter had two tackles through the first two games of the season, with both coming against Austin Peay last week in Tennessee’s 30-13 win at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee’s defense struggled mightily in the first half at Florida Saturday night, giving up 281 total yards while allowing the Gators to go on four straight touchdown drives. Florida went 7-for-8 on third downs while quarterback Graham Mertz completed 17 of 20 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown while leading his team to a 26-7 lead at halftime.
Slaughter played 41 snaps in the win over Austin Peay and played 29 snaps in the 49-13 win over Virginia on September 2 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. PFF gave Slaughter a 52.9 grade against Austin Peay, third worst on Tennessee’s defense. He had a grade of 66.3 against Virginia, ranking him 14th on Tennessee’s defense.
Slaughter has played in 35 games over the three-plus seasons with the Vols, including 12 of 13 games last season. He had a career-high 31 tackles last season, including 0.5 tackles for loss, to go with an interception and seven passes defended.
He had 16 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and a sack in 11 games as a sophomore in 2021. He had eight tackles, including a sack, in 10 games as a freshman in the 10-game, COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Slaughter moved to cornerback over the offseason, after playing the position out of need late last season.
“Lots of confidence,” Slaughter said during fall camp last month, while looking forward to his senior season. “It’s the most confidence I’ve had since I have been here.
“It’s my knowledge of the game, reflecting on the past plays I have made and my ability to make a difference on the field.”
The post Josh Heupel updates the status of Doneiko Slaughter for Tennessee-UTSA game appeared first on On3.
