KNOXVILLE – The to-do list for Tennessee’s defense during the team’s open week isn’t short.
The Volunteers have allowed the second-most yards and the second-most points per game in the Southeastern Conference, so there are some things defensive coordinator John Jancek and his unit must fix this week even without a game on the schedule.
Poor tackling, an inconsistent pass rush and allowing big plays have all been problems, and the Vols want to address those things and give key players some much-needed rest before beginning the second half of their season Oct. 24 at Alabama.
“(Tuesday) was a big tackling day for us,” Jancek said Wednesday. “We put all the guys that were out there through the drills, and I thought it was really productive. We needed that, and we’re going to continue to do that today, too.”
Jancek said his defensive backs are working on playing the ball in the air, the defensive linemen are trying to improve a pass rush that’s largely been absent and the linebackers are focusing on tackling better and taking away space for opponents to run.
Tennessee has given up 20 passing plays of 20 or more yards and 10 runs of such yardage, and both marks are near the bottom of the conference.
Justin Martin, who’s been rotating series with Emmanuel Moseley at cornerback the past two games, could be a player to watch in the secondary the second half of the season after the talented junior college transfer missed most of preseason camp with an injury.
“Justin’s a spot guy right now,” Jancek said. “(We’re) putting him in and letting him gain some experience. He’s making progress. I wouldn’t say he’s ready to start at this point, but he’s getting better each and every day.”
Through six games, the Vols have just nine sacks – five are by linebackers Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Darrin Kirkland Jr. – and 29 tackles for loss after finishing tied for third and fourth in those categories in 2014.
The absence of Curt Maggitt – who led Tennessee with 11 sacks in 2014 but has been out with a hip injury since the middle of September – is a major reason why, and the Vols continue to search for ways to generate more pressure.
“You’ve just got to continue to work your fundamentals and your techniques,” Jancek said. “In the Georgia game, we brought pressure the first three third downs, and on the fourth one they hit the screen on us. It’s going to be a balancing act of impacting the quarterback. We don’t have a great pass rush with our four-down (front) right now.
“We know that, so we’re going to have to find different ways to impact the quarterback with some different coverages and things of that nature and mixing in blitzes and different things that you’re playing behind the pressures to try and impact him. You can’t blitz every single down, or they start screening you and doing those things.”
So far, defensive end Derek Barnett hasn’t been able to replicate the production from his freshman year, when he finished with 72 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks after playing well in the second half of the season, but some extra rest this week should help.
“Derek hasn’t been 100 percent,” Jancek said. “He had a shoulder (injury), and he had a knee injury he came out of the Florida game with. We braced him up and got him back in there, but he’s overall just been banged up. And he just plays a ton of snaps for us. That’s just what it is right now for us.”
The absences of Maggitt and Rashaan Gaulden – the sophomore defensive back suffered a season-ending foot injury in the preseason – have been significant for Tennessee, which also lost freshman defensive tackle Shy Tuttle for the season because of leg injuries suffered against Georgia.
Jancek said the Vols would continue to rotate their four healthy defensive tackles and use their three-down looks primarily in passing situations and on third down.
Freshman Quay Picou is now Tennessee’s fifth defensive tackle, but Jancek said he’s “a long ways away” and would only be available in an emergency. However, the Vols are only one more injury away at defensive tackle, Jancek said, from possibly moving a player over from the offensive line.
The Vols are encouraged by the impact freshman Kahlil McKenzie is making at defensive tackle, though, and his role should continue to expand, particularly with Tuttle out.
“It’s him improving,” Jancek said. “He came in (as) a true freshman, and the fundamentals and techniques and things we’re trying to teach him takes a minute to learn. He’s certainly a talented young man, and I’m proud of the progress he’s been able to make.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.