Sutton clearly a Tennessee Vols' impact player

photo Tennessee defensive back Cameron Sutton celebrates stopping Utah State on 3rd down in this file photo.

KNOXVILLE - When opposing teams throw the football to Cam Sutton's side of the field, the Tennessee cornerback usually ensures the try ends poorly for them.

Oklahoma, though, was able to get one by the sophomore.

It's become a rarity to see Sutton get beat on a play like he did when Sooners quarterback Trevor Knight hit star receiver Sterling Shepard over the top for a 32-yard gain in the second quarter last Saturday night, but the play likely just will make the Volunteers' budding star even more focused on not letting it happen again.

"I don't think anybody wants it to," Tennessee secondary coach Willie Martinez said. "He's very competitive, so I don't think anybody that gets beat like his level, his mindset, the way he thinks like a great competitor -- he wasn't happy with it.

"The great thing about Cam is that he's very competitive and he'll keep on coming back. He doesn't let it get to him in a negative way. It just makes him fuel a little bit more fire in him where he doesn't want that to happen again."

The Knight-to-Shepard hookup got Oklahoma going on a touchdown drive that extended its lead to 20-7 going into halftime, and Sutton acknowledged that even the great corners occasionally give up big plays.

"Just a mistake in my technique, that's all it is," he said. "I had a mentality to snap and clear and just get ready for the next play. I'm not really worried about the last play."

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound former three-star recruit out of Georgia applies the same mindset to when he makes a good play, and he's making even more of those this season than he did in 2013, when he earned All-SEC freshman team honors.

Against Oklahoma he made seven tackles, broke up a third-down pass early in the second quarter and came up with a fumble Tennessee thought it should have been awarded later on the drive that began with Shepard's catch.

Sutton's highlight-reel play came in the fourth quarter when he leveled receiver Duron Neal with a thunderous hit.

In the season opener against Utah State, Sutton knifed up the field to end a screen pass the Aggies set up well in the backfield and intercepted a pass that led to a Tennessee field goal, and he made a similar stop on a screen pass against Arkansas State.

"That one year of experience helps me prepare better for the games," Sutton said. "Last year I was just kind of going in there just after a week of preparation and was trying to make plays. This year I feel more prepared and comfortable out there.

"Our coaching staff does a great job of putting us in great situations to make plays around the field. Like Coach Martinez said, my preparation this year has been at an all-time high, and I just feel more prepared when I go out there. I know what to expect a lot of times on the field, and I just go out there and make plays."

After starting every game last season, Sutton feels he's "definitely" playing faster this season, and it certainly looks that way. If receiver Marquez North is the Tennessee's offense budding sophomore star, Sutton assumes that role on defense.

He's played well enough throught three games to warrant consideration to carry the title of the Vols' best player.

"Cam's been very consistent," Martinez said. "He's improved in all aspects of his game, from a physical standpoint, from a tackling standpoint. He's always done well with the ball in the air, he's got excellent ball skills and he understands our defense a lot better, so he feels more confident.

"We let him do more things, where last year we were a little bit more reserved and just let him do what he knows or don't give him too much. Now we feel a lot more comfortable in him doing a lot more, playing both sides of the field. He's confident, and he's become a great leader and more vocal, which he needed to be."

Sutton admitted he did not expect to come in and start right away for the Vols, but he knew if he worked hard and showed what he could do in practice he'd earn his opportunity.

Now he's one of the impact players for Tennessee's defense.

"I know where everybody else is supposed to be around me," he said. "Last year I was just focused on myself and not trying to let teams and let the mistakes get to me. But this year I know where everybody else is around me, I know where guys are supposed to be, so I can correct myself as well as the guys around me."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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