KNOXVILLE — Tennessee (1-0, 1-0 SEC) opened the season with a 31-27 victory at South Carolina (0-1, 0-1 SEC).
The Vols held South Carolina to 89 rushing yards. Tennessee’s defense was able to be a presence in the Gamecocks’ backfield last week, totaling four sacks and nine tackles for a loss.
Following Tennessee’s win, senior edge rusher Deandre Johnson was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performance. Johnson totaled 2.5 sacks and six tackles.
Johnson views the Vols’ defensive unit as one that “could be dangerous” as the season goes along when they are at full strength.
The 6-foot-3, 255-pound senior mentioned he moved back into a dorm ahead of the 2020 campaign. One reason he did so was to improve on learning Jeremy Pruitt’s defensive scheme. Johnson said being back in a dorm has “helped out in a big way” focusing on football.
“For the summer, I just wanted to focus on my body, focus on understanding the scheme more, so moving back to the dorms, it kind of settled me in, it got me back grounded and I’m thankful,” Johnson told reporters on a Zoom call Tuesday.
Johnson mentioned that things began to come natural for him in Pruitt’s defensive system around the second week of fall training camp.
“One of the biggest things, I had to focus on was understanding why we call certain plays, what we’re trying to give the offense and what scheme we’re trying to accomplish with that play called,” Johnson said of what he focused on during the offseason. “Just figuring that out, it’s helped me big time. About the second week of fall camp I started to get in the groove, and from there on out I haven’t looked back.”
Vols Wire previously detailed Pruitt’s split safety coverage defensive scheme and how it operates. In the scheme, it is important for the defensive unit to communicate together pre-snap, making the correct calls and being in the right position.
“Everybody understands why they’re doing what they’re doing and when you look to the left and look to the right, you just know that guy is going to get his job done,” Johnson said. “It makes it easier on yourself. Everybody is playing fast, everybody is playing smarter and we want to just keep being aggressive.”
Below is Pruitt’s split safety coverage defensive scheme in detail and how it operates.
Understanding CONE, STUMP, SMASH, POSTER and FIT within the split safety coverage
Understanding Jeremy Pruitt’s split safety coverage: CONNIE
Understanding Jeremy Pruitt’s split safety coverage: STUBBIE