Tennessee Volunteers College Football Preview 2021: Defense
– The defense should’ve been better, but it didn’t get a whole lot of help from the offense. The pass rush wasn’t great, the secondary struggled, and overall the D allowed 407 yards and 30 points per game under a former coaching staff that knew how to put together defenses.
Josh Heupel landed veteran Penn State defensive coordinator to run the group, and he’s got a lot of puzzle pieces he’ll have to make fit. The depth on the line was gutted by the transfer portal, but …
– The linebacking corps was the hardest hit. Star Henry To’o To’o went from being the team’s leading tackler to Alabama. Third-leading tackler Quavaris Crouch is now a Michigan State Spartan, and Deandre Johnson took his talents to South Beach to become a Miami Hurricane.
However, the Vols got a few nice parts from the transfer portal, too, starting with Juwan Mitchell from Texas to help on the inside to help out Jeremy Banks, the team’s top returning linebacker with 28 stops.
The line should be okay – now it has to be disruptive. It’s one of the few areas that doesn’t need a whole lot of work with depth, size, and options to play around with.
The pressure, though, came from the linebacking corps, with the 290+ pounders needing to hold up against the run around 330-pound sophomore Elijah Simmons, 320-pound former Michigan transfer Aubrey Solomon, and top tackle 295-pound Matthew Butler.
– The Vols came up with just five interceptions, and four of them were from the defensive backs. The safeties are set with the veteran tandem of Jaylen McCollough and Trevon Flowers the good-tackling anchors, and corner Alontae Taylor has the upside to be an All-SEC performer if he can stay healthy and come up with a few more big plays.
– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Tennessee Schedule Analysis