On a frigid fall night in Columbia, Missouri, Nigel Warrior undercut an errant Drew Lock pass and started racing toward Tennessee’s end zone.

He sprinted down the left sideline before quickly realizing he would run out of real estate. The son of electric Vol legend Dale Carter cut back across the field, picked up a few blocks and dove toward the pylon for a 70-yard pick-six to tie the game.

For the first time in his career, Warrior resembled his All-American dad and looked like the Top 100 recruit that spurned Alabama to sign with Tennessee.

It would be 17 long games for that to happen again.

Nigel Warrior has had his moments the last three seasons for the Vols, but they’ve been fleeting, and oftentimes, followed by a missed tackle or big play allowed. His interception at Missouri was the lone pick of his career before this season.

The struggles, the constant coaching changes — three defensive back coaches in four years — and a general frustration of “this isn’t the way this was supposed to go” caused Warrior to lose a semblance of passion for the game.

But amid a renaissance senior season, Warrior has rediscovered that love — and then some — this fall, emerging as one of the more remarkable stories in Tennessee’s rollercoaster season.

“With all the things that have happened in my years here, I’m more focused than I’ve ever been,” Warrior said.

“The biggest difference is just finding a passion for the game and actually loving what I’m doing. I’m not saying I didn’t love it, but I have more love for who I’m doing it for and who I’m playing with. It’s becoming more routine.”

I expressly asked Warrior what sparked such a change. In his focus? In his passion? He declined to delve into the past though, preferring to only look forward.

And why wouldn’t he? The present has been much more fitting to Warrior’s own expectations.

Suddenly buoyed by confidence and a belief that the current coaches will put him in a position to succeed, Warrior has had a breakthrough senior season.

He knows the playbook. He’s in the right position. He’s not missing tackles. He’s become a true playmaker.

“The coaches, they’re putting us in the right position every time. Well, I wouldn’t say every time, but most of the time,” Warrior said. “They know what plays are coming up next. (Defensive coordinator Derrick) Ansley, (head coach Jeremy) Pruitt, they know what plays are coming. They’ll see something right then and there and be like, ‘Oh, this cat is coming.’ And it’ll actually happen. Those guys make a big difference. They don’t just call out anything. They call out what can stop what they think or know is going to happen, and it works. … You should know what’s coming next.”

With the lessons learned from Ansley and Pruitt, Warrior has seen his game elevate to a totally other level this fall. Not even on NFL radars before the season, Warrior has earned himself some real money through 10 games by grading out as the No. 1 safety in the SEC, per Pro Football Focus. He has four interceptions, tied for the league lead, and five pass breakups.

He had three pass breakups combined his first three seasons at Tennessee. Warrior has developed into a sure tackler, too, missing just three stops all season. Again, a dramatic improvement from his first three years on campus where he missed a combined 23 tackles, per PFF.

“He’s a gifted athlete. He has ball skills. He can play man-to-man, he can tackle in space, he has toughness and he has instincts. He wants to be really good. He has taken to the coaching that he has received,” Pruitt said.

“He has improved tremendously in the last 18 months, probably just as much as any player that I have ever been around. I have really seen him hitting his stride, and hopefully, he will continue to work hard and he will continue to improve.”

Throughout the season, Warrior has come up with timely plays when the defense needed them the most. His interception at Alabama keyed a 14-point swing. His pick at Kentucky saved a touchdown. Perhaps the best play of his career also came vs. the Wildcats, and it only registered as a simple tackle in the box score.

Using pre-snap keys picked from Ansley and Pruitt, Warrior was positioned perfectly on a reverse, blowing up the play by taking on both the blocker and the runner.

Warrior has never been shy about speaking up, but the senior’s leadership has carried more weight this season as his own play has translated to success. He's become the soul of an improving unit.

He held teammates accountable during grueling offseason works, and that in-your-face leadership continued early in the year after Tennessee’s 0-2 start. To hear several players explain, Warrior simply “has the guts to come out and say stuff when other people are a little too scared to say anything.”

“Nigel has worked his butt off all year in terms of studying in the film room, being here extra, asking Coach what to do. Nigel’s a tremendous leader. I mean, he’s worked his butt off and you’ve seen results week in and week out,” junior lineman Trey Smith said.

It’s taken longer than he hoped or thought, but the results have spoken for themselves this fall for Warrior, who will play his final road game tonight in the same stadium he flashed his promise two years ago.

“He’s playing his best football right now,” Pruitt said. “He’s kind of turning into a complete player. Whether it’s playing the ball, playing man-to-man or tackling in space, he has improved and continues to improve in all of those areas.”