KNOXVILLE – At the beginning of this preseason, Tennessee outside linebackers coach Chris Rumph was asked whom he expected to start at the position opposite incumbent Darrell Taylor.
Rumph was very quick with his response: Deandre Johnson.
“He’s the guy that has the most experience right now,” Rumph said that day, “but we have some young guys that are going to battle, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Since then, Johnson hasn’t done anything to change Rumph’s mind.
The 6-foot-3, 246-pound junior’s performances in practices this month have put him in a position to start the opener against Georgia State. Johnson is listed as a possible starter at “Jack” – one of the Volunteers’ outside linebacker positions – along with sophomore Kivon Bennett going into Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game at Neyland Stadium
Johnson was one of the players thrust into the rotation after the loss of Jonathan Kongbo to a knee injury midway through the 2018 season. Johnson started the next game against Alabama on Oct. 20 and had a pair of tackles, but he didn’t really make any big plays from that point forward until recording a sack in Tennessee’s win against Kentucky on Nov. 10.
Even before his greater involvement at outside linebacker, though, success for Johnson and the Vols seemed to go hand in hand. He had his best game of the season at Auburn, finishing with four tackles and a sack in the 30-24 upset of the 21st-ranked Tigers on Oct. 13.
He admitted there were times he didn’t really know what to do last year. However, with his experience from 2018 plus an offseason of learning his position, getting stronger and adding more muscle to his frame and watching video, the former defensive lineman feels a lot more comfortable at his current spot, which could lead to more consistency in games.
“I was a young guy last year, and I had a big role to step in,” Johnson said Tuesday. “In the moment, I felt I wasn’t ready, but now I’m ready to make a big impact because of where my weight is and the mental part of things.
“I know what I’m supposed to do, I know my position and I’m playing smarter.”
With the switch to a 3-4 defense after Jeremy Pruitt took over as head coach in December 2017, Rumph called every day last season “like a new day” for the team, but with the improvements all around he believes it “should be interesting” this year.
Johnson said he started to turn the corner and figure things out midway through this spring’s practices, reaching a level of knowledge and confidence that has brought forth a certain level of excitement entering the season – not just for him but the entire team.
“Last year wasn’t fun, not with all the losing,” said Johnson, who noted he won a Florida Class 8A state championship his senior season of high school at Miami Southridge.
“We had to change our mentality, grow up and mature,” Johnson said of the Vols. “We had to realize what we’re doing this for, realize what we wanted this season to be and create an identity for ourselves and for this team. Guys put in extra work in the weightroom and the meeting room, and things are starting to click.
“Guys are more attacking, playing way faster and more aggressive. We’re way smarter and we know what to do.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.