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Josh Heupel was hired as Tennessee’s head coach on Jan. 27.
Heupel hired Tim Banks as his defensive coordinator at Tennessee on Feb. 15.
Banks showcases a 4-2-5 defensive scheme, which is built to defend against spread offenses.
His scheme uses two defensive tackles and a pair of defensive ends. Pressure from Banks’ defense will come upfront.
Linebackers are asked to stop the run, while being responsible for covering tight ends and slot wide receivers.
Banks’ defense will feature two safeties and two cornerbacks.
A VIPER position is added to the defensive rotation, providing a hybrid linebacker/defensive back role, typically on passing downs. A RUSH position is a linebacker on the edge for passing downs.
A LEO is a tweener of a defensive end and a linebacker who can apply pressure on the quarterback as an edge rusher. The position can allow for a 3-4 scheme to have 4-3 tendencies with the same personnel. A LEO is usually on the boundary side.
Vols Wire takes a look at Tennessee’s projected defensive depth chart for 2021.
The 8.0 version comes ahead of SEC media days.
NEXT: Tennessee’s 2021 defensive depth chart projection (Defensive line)