Tennessee will wrap up spring football practice Saturday afternoon with the Orange & White game inside Neyland Stadium, giving fans a chance to see the new-look Nittany Lions defense.
Check that, the new-look Volunteers defense.
Josh Heupel’s biggest offseason overhaul since assembling his first staff in 2021 took place in recent months, when Jim Knowles was hired as defensive coordinator after spending last season at Penn State. Knowles brought secondary coach Anthony Poindexter and edge rushers coach Andrew “AJ” Jackson with him, and four players followed them from Happy Valley to Knoxville — defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam, edge rusher Chaz Coleman, linebacker Amare Campbell and safety Dejuan Lane.
Campbell was described by Knowles earlier this spring as the quarterback of Tennessee’s defense.
“I am pretty much the quarterback of the defense,” Campbell said in a press conference this week. “I’m in charge of the checks, and I’m really in charge of all 11 on the field — where they line up and what they do. I think I’ve become a really good teacher, and not just to the linebackers but all positions.