Tennessee’s defense provided plenty of impressive moments under first-year coordinator Jim Knowles during this past Saturday’s 56-9 drubbing of Furman inside Neyland Stadium.
Then again, was it even a Jim Knowles defense?
“We kept it so simple,” senior defensive tackle Nathan Robinson said Monday in a news conference, “and even keeping it so simple, it worked fantastically. I’m not going to get into it too deep, but it was very basic stuff.
“I’m just excited to see the more complicated stuff when it comes in and how much more exciting that’s going to be.”
The Volunteers, who moved up two spots to No. 18 in Tuesday’s latest Associated Press poll, recorded 12 lost-yardage stops against the Paladins, including six sacks. Furman amassed 221 yards for the game but had just 92 through three quarters against Tennessee’s primary defenders.