Sleepless Cam Sutton: UT Vols' cornerback knows Amari Cooper's moves

photo UT's Cameron Sutton carries in the game against UTC Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

HANGIN' WITH MR. COOPERAlabama receiver Amari Cooper leads the SEC in catches and receiving yards by a wide margin. The junior has 62 receptions for 908 yards for the Crimson Tide this season. The second-leading receivers in those categories have 37 catches (Texas A&M duo Malcome Kennedy and Ricky Seals-Jones) and 665 yards (LSU's Travin Dural).Here are Cooper's numbers from Alabama's seven games.West Virginia: 12 catches, 130 yardsFlorida Atlantic: 13 catches, 189 yards, TDSouthern Mississippi: 8 catches, 135 yards, TDFlorida: 10 catches, 201 yards, 3 TDsOle Miss: 9 catches, 91 yardsArkansas: 2 catches, 22 yardsTexas A&M: 8 catches, 140 yards, 2 TDs.

KNOXVILLE - At 10 o'clock tonight, it will be lights out at the team hotel for the Tennessee Volunteers.

Perhaps that will give Cam Sutton some time to catch up on some sleep.

The sophomore cornerback will spend most of Saturday night shadowing Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper around Neyland Stadium in what will be his second straight matchup against one of the SEC's top talents. He dealt with Ole Miss wideout Laquon Treadwell last Saturday.

It's the kind of matchup a defensive back like Sutton greatly relishes, and it likely led to some sleepless nights this week.

Sutton is a junkie in studying video, and it's common for him to stay up into the wee hours of the morning -- 2 or 3 a.m., he admitted earlier this week -- trying to find any small detail he can.

"I'm getting sleep any chance I get, but it's a sacrifice," he said. "You have to sacrifice some things, and that just comes with being a football player. You're always not going to get sleep here or there, but it shows on Saturday when you're more prepared, because I'd rather be more prepared on Saturdays than (get) sleep."

When asked to estimate how many hours each week he spends watching tape, Sutton could only call it "countless." He even said he'll get caught up studying video when he should handling his schoolwork. Sutton is majoring in pharmacy, according to Tennessee's media guide.

"He's definitely driven," safety Brian Randolph said. "He's always in the weight room as well, doing extra stuff to get his body right. It don't surprise me that he's probably up at all hours of the night trying to get an edge."

With that kind of approach, it's fair to say Sutton, a former three-star recruit, simply is wired a little differently.

"I think all the good ones are like that," said secondary coach Willie Martinez. "It's important to him, and you can see that. The confidence is kind of like spreading a little bit within the group, which is what we asked from him coming off last year and being a good leader.

"He's one of our best players, and the best way to lead is to set the example and be consistent in your play."

Sutton will face easily the biggest challenge of his career in Cooper, the 6-foot-1, 210-pounder out of Miami who ranks fourth in the country in both catches (62) and yards (908).

Cooper feasted on the Vols in the past two seasons. As a freshman in 2012, Cooper caught seven passes for 162 yards and touchdowns of 23 and 42 yards on his way to breaking Julio Jones's records for catches and yards by an Alabama freshman.

In Tuscaloosa last season, Cooper took a bubble screen for a 54-yard touchdown on the third snap of the game.

"One of the best players in the country," Vols coach Butch Jones said. "He's dynamic, he's explosive and he can do it all.

"He's proven it over time in this league."

After how well Sutton played Treadwell, the Rebels' leading receiver, last week, it'd make sense for Tennessee to match Sutton up with Cooper as much as possible. The two sophomores lined up across from each other on just about every snap.

In the first half, Sutton was in perfect position to force an incompletion on a deep pass intended for Treadwell, who later beat Sutton off the line and probably would have scored a touchdown if Bo Wallace hadn't barely overthrown him. Treadwell's first catch came early in the third quarter, and three of his four grabs came when the Vols played zone coverage.

"I don't have to worry about Cam," Randolph said. "Whoever we're playing, we know Cam's always up for the challenge. He always like to go against the best competition, so pretty much that side of the field, you ain't really got to worry about it."

Jones said the Vols were intentional in trying to match Sutton on Treadwell, which led to Vince Sanders having a big night (four catches, 108 yards and a touchdown). Tennessee expects Alabama to move Cooper around more, but the Tide are overwhelmingly reliant on their star. DeAndrew White is the Tide's second-leading receiver with 19 catches for 184 yards.

"Cam's very confident," Vols defensive coordinator John Jancek said. "I trust Cam with everything that we ask him to do. Having a player like Cam Sutton, period, is good."

Sutton acknowledged he'd watch more tape this week with a receiver like Cooper waiting for him, but that would be the only minor tweak in his preparation.

"Any week I come in, I go through all the receivers and personnel and things like that," he said. "I go through all the releases and all the routes and how they come off the ball. I just go through their whole game.

"It slows down the game for me on Saturdays."

Cooper likely will be playing on Sundays this time next year, and Treadwell, the SEC's freshman of the year in 2013, likely won't be too far behind. Sutton has his own aspirations of playing in the NFL, and he knows facing the likes of Treadwell and Cooper are chances for him to show what he can do.

"Going against these guys (it's) just seizing those moments and making the most out of those moments," he said, "trying to make plays and as many plays as you can throughout the course of the game."

He'll get plenty of chances following Cooper around for three-plus hours.

"He wants the ball thrown at him in crucial situations," Jones said, "and that's when you know you have a player that's playing with great confidence."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

Upcoming Events