Tennessee defensive lineman Jakob Johnson (44) sings Rocky Top with the team after the Vols' season-opener football victory against the Aggies on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014, at Neyland Stadium.KNOXVILLE - It's looking more and more likely Tennessee will swap the No. 2 player on the program's career tackles list for a freshman playing just his second season of football in this country.
Really.
With A.J. Johnson's suspension amid an investigation into an alleged rape likely to carry into Tennessee's home finale against No. 19 Missouri on Saturday night, the Volunteers likely will turn to freshman Jakob Johnson to take over the vacancy at middle linebacker.
"I keep forgetting he's only 19 years old, and I ride him, I ride him, I ride him," Tennessee linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen said after Wednesday's practice. "I thought today he responded really well. He's in the meetings, and he's actually talking like a sophomore or a junior.
"I thought today he really stepped up, took command of the huddle, made all the checks and all the adjustments. It was a really pleasant surprise today, that he responded the way he did."
Redshirt sophomore Kenny Bynum is another option as the Vols play without their top tackler and defensive leader, but Jakob Johnson has the inside track.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder is one of the more interesting stories in Tennessee's 2014 signing class.
He played football growing up in Stuttgart, Germany, but he only played one season at Jean Ribault High School in the Jacksonville area after moving to the United States in July 2012.
Johnson racked up 112 tackles, 15 for loss and six sacks in his lone season of football in America, but he was rated as a four-star prospect by 247sports when Tennessee landed him and included him among their early enrollees.
"I like his intelligence," defensive coordinator John Jancek said. "I like his size. I like a lot of things he's been able to do in a very short amount of time. It's going to be fun to see him get out there and compete and see what he can do."
Johnson's played in every game since the opener. Most of his playing time came on special teams, but he made four tackles in mop-up duty against Chattanooga and had two stops last week against Kentucky.
The biggest question with Johnson is handling all the communication and making the necessary checks that middle linebackers make in every defense, and while Jancek said other players must "pull a little bit more weight now" with A.J. Johnson absent, he made it clear what's on Jakob Johnson.
"That's the responsibility of the middle linebacker," Jancek said. "It's a badge of honor to be a middle linebacker. Jakob's got to do it. He's put the time in, he's worked extremely hard. I know he's been up early in the morning looking at film, and we've challenged him to do so and he's responded well so far."
Thigpen said Johnson watched "a ton of tape" after Tuesday's practice.
"We're not going to change," he said. "We're not going to make it more simple for him. Here, you get what you deserve, and he deserves to play this week. He's doing everything we ask him to do. We'll make the adjustments on the sideline of things we don't see on the practice field."
Reality check
Jancek said the mood of the Vols have been positive this week amid the suspensions and uncertainty surrounding A.J. Johnson and cornerback Michael Williams.
He specifically praised the players who will step into larger roles due to absences -- including freshman safety Todd Kelly for Brian Randolph, who will sit out the first half after his targeting penalty last week -- for their responses.
"I don't think anybody's been distracted," he said. "We came to grips with it is reality. We have to continue to educate everyone in these matters. Our guys know that we have a job to do. They're not canceling the game. Let's go play, let's win."
Jones on Jalen
After Tuesday's practice, Tennessee coach Butch Jones indicated the Vols would rely more on linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin in terms of communication.
The consistent sophomore is Tennessee's third-leading tackler, behind Randolph and A.J. Johnson, and Jones said on the SEC coaches' teleconference he doesn't want Reeves-Maybin trying to do too much as he steps up with others out.
"It's a tremendous opportunity for him, and Jalen's been one of those performers that's really been stepping for us," Jones said. "We talk about consistency in performance each and every day, and he's been one of those individuals that's been exceptionally consistent for us.
"His leadership has continued to grow and grow and grow. Our players have a lot of confidence in him, and they view him as one of our leaders. To me, he just has to play his normal game, not try to do too much, just do your job, execute your assignment and just continue to provide the stability and leadership he's been able to do all season long."
Sizing up salaries
According to the annual coaching salary database released by USA Today on Wednesday, Tennessee's Butch Jones is the 28th-highest paid coach in the country and the 11th-highest among his peers in the SEC.
Jones is in the second year of a six-year deal that pays him $2.95 million per year. He received a $50,000 bonus for Tennessee's Academic Progress Rate score of 962 released in May. If Tennessee wins one of its final two games, Jones would get a bowl bonus of either $100,000 or $200,000 depending on where the Vols land.
A bowl berth in his second season also could lead to a raise and extension for Jones.
Road warriors
Missouri carries a nine-game road winning streak -- the second-longest in the nation behind Ohio State (13) and Florida State (12) -- into Saturday night's game, and the Tigers could surpass a program record consecutive road wins set in 1978-80.
Including in that streak are seven SEC wins, at Vanderbilt, Georgia, Kentucky and Ole Miss last season and at Florida, South Carolina and Texas A&M this season.
The Tigers won in four overtimes at Tennessee in 2012 before losing 59-29 at Johnny Manziel-led Texas A&M in what was Missouri's last road loss.
"We don't really ever talk about it," Tigers coach Gary Pinkel said. "The whole key for anybody is to be able to focus, no matter where you play, whether you're playing in the 'Zou' here in Columbia or you're playing in South Carolina. The whole key is can you focus on playing your best, regardless of the environment and circumstances.
"We don't prepare any different on the road than we do for home (games), so that's what we're going to do this week."
After a 5-7 debut season in the SEC in 2012, Missouri is 20-4 the past two seasons, and Jones said the Tigers carry "swagger" and an expectation to win.
"Their program knows how to win," added Tennessee's coach. "We talk about developing your players, and I think if there's one program that really exemplifies developing your players, I think it's Missouri. They've done a great job.
"I think they've reaped the benefits of the coaching staff being in place for a number of years (because) they know what they want in recruiting, and they develop their players."