Cam Sutton has yet to become a household name in SEC country following his first two years at Tennessee, but he ought to be one by now.

In those first two seasons in 2013-14 — head coach Butch Jones’ first two seasons in Knoxville — Sutton logged five interceptions and 20 passes defended from his cornerback position. He’s excellent in coverage, even better when making plays on the ball in the air or closing ground on a wideout who thought he beat Sutton, and he’s a playmaker who always seems to save his biggest moments for the right times.

There’s a reason he’s started all 25 games of his SEC career. Sutton logged an SEC-leading 13 pass breakups last season, the same number as two-time All-SEC honoree Vernon Hargreaves registered at Florida. Sutton has a knack for getting a hand on the ball without interfering with a receiver, making it even riskier to throw his way even if it looks like the wideout might have a step.

He’s a physical corner who never shies away from making a difficult tackle, and he rarely allows for yards after the catch — all evidenced by his 76 career tackles and 8 career tackles for loss. He’s simply a complete football player who can press, run stride-for-stride with a receiver, make tackles in the open field, intercept footballs and even return kicks when needed.

The Vols ranked 13th in defending the pass in 2012, their last season without Sutton in the secondary. But the last two years the Vols have ranked in the top half of the SEC in pass defense, finishing as high as fourth last season upon allowing fewer than 200 yards per game through the air.

Sutton’s talent was immediately noticeable when he arrived in Knoxville, which is why he’s been a starter ever since. This fall he’ll prove once again just how valuable he is to Tennessee and its improved pass defense when he makes a move to the nickel cornerback position.

Many would view a corner being moved to nickel as a demotion, or at least as a signal that the player in question is not among the elites at his position. After all, if he was there’d be no need to move him, right?

Wrong. Tennessee is actually moving Sutton to nickel because he’s perhaps the only man on the roster good enough to fill the role. As spread offenses become more and more prominent in the NCAA, and particularly the SEC, nickel corners are tasked with more responsibility than ever before in shutting down slot receivers with space surrounding them in all directions. A nickel corner does not have the benefit of a sideline, making the position extremely challenging to play if an opponent has an effective slot receiver (most offenses do nowadays).

Which is why Tennessee has turned to Sutton to man the position. Justin Coleman, the team’s top corner a year ago, made the same move as a senior and helped UT put together one the SEC’s best pass defenses. That season was evidence that moving a top-flight corner into the slot can elevate an entire secondary. After all, Tennessee has plenty of corners, just none who can play the slot as well as Sutton.

That’s why he’ll be making the move for at least a part of the upcoming season, which, again, only reinforces his greatness and his significance to the entire defense.

“Last year proved that when our nickel is really good, we have a chance of playing really good on defense,” Tennessee secondary coach Willie Martinez told Go Vols Xtra. “I just want to give Cam the opportunity because, one, he’s one of our best playmakers. He likes it and wants to do it. And (two), the more guys can play multiple positions, especially the corners, the better we’re gonna be on defense.”

Martinez’s last sentence is particularly interesting. After showering Sutton with much of the same praise as the top half of this article, Martinez notes that he desires versatility out of his defensive backs, which makes sense considering how often opponents present unorthodox four- and five-receiver sets. And for now, Sutton is the only man on the team with the versatility to hold down the position within Martinez’s unit.

Physical, athletic, explosive, versatile. Those four words epitomize Sutton as he enters his third year on campus. He’s not a household name in the Southeast as the new season approaches, but it’s safe to say fans throughout the SEC will know his name when the 2015 season is all said and done.