The Crimson White caught up with Ryan Schumpert, the sports editor of Tennessee’s student newspaper, The Daily Beacon, to talk about the Crimson Tide’s matchup against the Volunteers this Saturday.

Q: What are your thoughts on Tennessee’s season thus far?

A: I certainly think it was a disappointing start that not many people saw coming with the early losses to Georgia State and BYU, but I think last week’s win was really big for them because it kind of still gives them a hope that they could maybe be able to make a bowl game if they can get hot and win some winnable games here late in the year. I think they’re a team that’s getting better, but still, I don’t think they’re going to accomplish some of the things they hoped to do before the season.

Q: Jeremy Pruitt has a lot of history here at Alabama. What is your assessment of his work with the Volunteers this season?

A: I think – and I think Jeremy Pruitt would tell you this himself off the record – that they just didn’t put enough preparation into Georgia State, and I think that was pretty inexcusable. I think they’re going to give him time, which they should. He’s inherited a bad roster, and I don’t think there’s a ton of people right now that are going to want to take the Tennessee job right now anyway. You do see some young, talented players. They’re playing a lot of freshmen. They have two freshmen offensive tackles, a freshman at quarterback, and I think that if they can salvage things a little bit, which I think they have a good chance to do it, my prediction right now would be that they can get to five wins, but if they can get to five or six wins and salvage a little bit of the recruiting class, I think he could still be successful here.

Q: Prior to his concussion against Mississippi State, true freshman quarterback Brian Maurer has had two consecutive solid outings. What can the Crimson Tide expect from him this weekend?

A: I think the Tennessee coaches want to keep it simple for him. He does a good job of getting the ball out on time. That’s something that Jarrett Guarantano didn’t do very well. What’s really surprised me is that he’s been more accurate than I thought he’d be and flashed some of the arm strength we knew he had. And then to a lesser degree, I think he’s a decently athletic guy, can run a little bit. I’m not sure how much they’re going to include that in the game plan.

Q: Who do you think the key defensive players will be for Tennessee against Alabama, and why?

A: [They’ve had] one backup linebacker kicked off the team, and two others have transferred, so they’re razor-thin there. Henry To’o To’o got ejected for targeting in the second half of last week’s game, so they’re having to move a freshman outside linebacker in to play snaps at inside. I would expect them to see much crossing routes and quick RPO slant stuff that Alabama runs, so I expect a big game for Quavaris Crouch. Nigel Warrior has been playing good football at safety – the best football of his career – but at the same time, he’s just not gonna be able to match up athletically against Alabama’s receivers. A good performance from him would go a long way, but it’s certainly going to be an uphill battle for Tennessee’s defense Saturday.

Q: What does Tennessee have to do to make it competitive?

A: You know, I could say the kind of traditional things like what I said about the Georgia game a few weeks ago. Just try to shorten the game, be able to run the ball, but at the end of the day, I think a huge difference between Alabama and Georgia is that Georgia’s offense is just gonna take what you give them, and Tennessee plays “bend, not break.” I don’t think they can do that against Alabama. I just think Alabama – no matter what Tennessee does defensively – is going to score quick.

Q: What is your score prediction, and why?

A: I’m going with Alabama 52, Tennessee 17. I think it’s kind of a pick-your-number game for Saban, but I think he’s been at least nice in the past. It’s kind of what Pruitt was saying in his press conference Monday. He’s been nice in the past to some people, and he’s been kind of nice to some former assistants in the past, but we certainly remember three games with [former Vols head coach] Derek Dooley at Knoxville where that score probably could have gotten more out of hand than it was.