KNOXVILLE - Three of the top-rated defensive tackle prospects from the 2015 recruiting class will be playing key roles as freshmen when Tennessee and Georgia clash this afternoon at Neyland Stadium.
Trenton Thompson, the No. 1 defensive tackle recruit according to 247Sports, made his first career start for Georgia's Bulldogs last week against Alabama.
Tennessee's duo of Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie, the No. 2 and No. 11 tackles per 247Sports, have yet to crack the starting lineup, but the playing time for both has increased the past two weeks against Florida and Arkansas.
The Volunteers liked what the two freshmen showed on both occasions.
Tennessee freshman defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie celebrates a recovered fumble in the Western Carolina game."While it is a process, I think they're really coming along," Tennessee defensive line coach Steve Stripling said. "They, along with the defense and the defensive line, were lacking the details of finishing plays and being in the critical spot at the critical time. But I really am pleased with the young guys' progress."
McKenzie and Tuttle each recorded five tackles against Arkansas last week, and they will be key again against Georgia, another run-first team with a big offensive line and dynamic running backs.
"I was very encouraged," Tennessee head coach Butch Jones said. "I thought Shy played the best game he's played all year. I thought his effort was outstanding. He was able to win some one-on-one matchups in the pass protection area against the offensive linemen. I thought Kahlil did some very good things of holding his gap and being active.
"When we watched the film, we were very, very encouraged with those two individuals. They did a very, very good job."
It was always going to be a process for both players. The trenches of the SEC often are unkind to freshman linemen. In the case of the trio of Thompson, Tuttle and McKenzie, the learning curve is sped up because of their talent.
Tuttle was an early enrollee who went through spring practice, so he was further along than McKenzie, who had to sit out his senior season of high school football after transferring.
Stripling has been impressed by the 305-pound Tuttle's athletic ability and noted that he has a "racehorse mentality" that adds some pep to his step on Saturdays.
He played a little more earlier in the season than McKenzie, but the Vols have sent the pair out together early and often the past three games, as part of a five-man rotation with Danny O'Brien, Owen Williams and Kendal Vickers, as they continue to progress and develop.
"They're getting off blocks now," defensive coordinator John Jancek said. "Their pad level is much lower. They're flat-backed, their hand placement, the fundamentals and techniques that you work on are now starting to show up in the games. We're still not where we need to be in terms of pass rush, especially on play-action.
"But, man, those two, they're going to be good."
The Vols need their entire defensive line to be good today against Georgia and its run game led by a veteran offensive line and running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.
Last week Arkansas used its massive offensive line and the elusive running back duo of Alex Collins and Rawleigh Williams to impose its will in the second half of the 24-20 win over the Vols.
"This is the most athletic offensive line that we've seen," Stripling said of Georgia. "It's not the biggest by far, but in watching last year's film, that was probably one of the most physical games of the year. They are also a physical bunch.
"They do probably a better job than most offensive lines of what we call getting to the second level, which means they don't stay on the double teams as much and they get to the linebackers better than most lines.
"It's a different feel - a lot of zone plays, some power plays - but I think you have to use your athletic ability to stay in your gaps."
Another good day from its two freshmen in the middle certainly would help Tennessee.
"Seeing Shy from the spring until now, he's starting to develop into the type of player we want in the program," linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. "He's playing hard, he's giving great effort and they're both progressing. Kahlil played a lot this week against Arkansas. With bigger guys, that's his type of game. They'll both be great players.
"They've just got to keep developing and keep working, and everybody will like the outcome in the end."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com