Vols adapt to Bob Shoop's 'aggressive' defense despite absences

Shoop pleased with spring perfomance of depleted 'D'

During spring practices, linebacker Kenny Bynum and the rest of Tennessee's defense have been without some players expected to be major contributors this fall. At the same time, they're getting accustomed to new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop.
During spring practices, linebacker Kenny Bynum and the rest of Tennessee's defense have been without some players expected to be major contributors this fall. At the same time, they're getting accustomed to new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop.

KNOXVILLE - The flip side to Tennessee's struggles throwing the football during Saturday's scrimmage at Neyland Stadium was the positive performance by a shorthanded defense adjusting to a new coordinator.

Though head coach Butch Jones said after the scrimmage the Volunteers needed to be more disruptive defensively, they still were able to generate pressure on the quarterbacks and force a couple of interceptions.

As Tennessee heads into its final week of practice in its first spring under Bob Shoop, the players are pleased with their offseason progress and confident in their new defensive coordinator.

"We're a very aggressive defense," linebacker Kenny Bynum said Saturday. "I like his thinking of blitzing and the new concept he's bringing in. I think they're really good and fit our defense very well. We've got a lot of speed on defense, so I think things are going pretty well."

Though Shoop has had to operate without a handful of key players, he's pleased with where the Vols are headed. He said last week the installation of his defense these past few weeks has been focused more on concepts than specifics, and the absence of regulars has allowed the coaching staff to let younger players participate more, which should help Tennessee's defense when the season arrives.

"I think we're right on schedule," Shoop said Thursday. "The installation's been just about how I would want it to be. There haven't been any surprises, nothing come out of left field that I went, 'Oh, geez, I didn't see that coming.'

"It's not been anything where a player that's emerged that I had no idea wasn't a good player. Maybe Marquill Osborne's a guy that I really didn't know very much about before I got here that's a good player. It's kind of like what I expected."

Shoop and his defenders are eager to get back to full strength, of course, because the performances in 11-on-11 settings all have come with the caveat of who's missing. The Vols have been short seven or eight defensive linemen and three or four defensive backs at times, and while most of the absences are due to offseason surgeries rather than spring injuries, the latter claimed star linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, reserve linebacker Dillon Bates and the promising duo of defensive end Austin Smith and safety Stephen Griffin.

"We don't have all of our bullets out there like (Derek) Barnett and Maybin, but it's allowing a lot of guys to get some good looks," Bynum said. "Like Cortez (McDowell), I think he's stepping up a lot. Quart'e Sapp and Gavin Bryant are stepping up a lot. We've got a lot of D-linemen out, so I feel like the younger guys like Darrell Taylor are getting good looks.

"It's kind of bittersweet."

Cornerback Cameron Sutton downplayed the effect of the absences.

"It's had a low impact," he said Saturday. "Sometimes we might not have the numbers that we want to, but we're starting to build depth on the D-line and the rest of the areas with the linebackers and the secondary as well.

"The guys that we have in there now, they're starting to build that trust with the coaching staff that they can play, they know what they're doing, they know their assignments and they know how to line up. From there it's just the want-to to get to the ball."

Shoop openly admitted to wondering what his defense will look like with a full deck - particularly on the defensive line - in the fall.

"All the players texted me after (last week's) scrimmage, 'Wait till you see us going with all the bullets flying. Wait till you see us going when everybody's out there,'" Shoop said. "On the off days, Coach (Jones) has us with injured players walk through some of the things that we do during practice. When I look out there and see the D-line and I see Kyle Phillips, Derek Barnett, I see Vickers, I see Shy Tuttle - that's a pretty good group. Then you add (Jonathan) Kongbo, then you add (Corey) Vereen, who's practiced minimally this spring.

"You sit there and you go, 'Wow.' When those guys are out there, it's going to look a lot different."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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