While Tennessee’s offense is hoping to flourish in a brand new era Thursday night inside Neyland Stadium against Bowling Green, the defensive members of the Volunteers are more about seeking atonement.
In a 3-7 season a year ago in which little went right, Tennessee’s defense didn’t do much to stem the downward spiral. The Vols lost seven of their last eight games and surrendered at least 30 points in six of those setbacks, and that transpired with a decent amount of experience.
“There is a lot of pride in our room, not only to do well for the team and setting the tone for the defense but also a sense of pride because we’re veterans,” said senior defensive tackle Matthew Butler, who opted to use the extra season that the NCAA allowed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. “We’ve seen this program through the trials and the tribulations, and we’re trying to set a real tone in changing the culture. We’ll be together playing as one with no mistakes and no loafing around running to the ball.
“It’s been quite a while since we’ve had a packed stadium, which we’re going to have. We’re very excited, very eager and very ready.”
The Vols held a closed practice Tuesday and will conduct a walkthrough Wednesday leading up to Thursday’s 8 p.m. kickoff on the SEC Network.
Tennessee has even more defensive experience this season, which was reflected Monday when first-year coach Josh Heupel released a projected starting lineup containing six seniors – Butler, defensive end JaQuain Blakely, middle linebacker Juwan Mitchell, cornerback Alontae Taylor, star Theo Jackson and safety Trevon Flowers. Mitchell is in his first season with the Vols after transferring from Texas, where he led the Longhorns in tackles last season.
Weakside linebacker Jeremy Banks is a redshirt junior, while cornerback Warren Burrell and safety Jaylen McCullough are juniors and defensive tackle Elijah Simmons a redshirt sophomore. Starting at the edge-rushing spot either will be sophomore Tyler Baron, who played in all 10 games last season, or junior-college transfer Byron Young.
“I’m excited about that group,” Heupel said. “When we finished up spring, that was a really thin unit hit hard by the transfer portal – a lot of it before I had even gotten here. Adding the transfers that we added was a huge part, and the other part of it is the way the kids who have been here since January and February have really grown inside each of their position rooms.
“I look at our linebacker group as a completely different meeting room than we were in spring ball. Some of the guys came back from injury but a lot has just been their growth as individuals and human beings and understanding what we’re doing.”
Butler is pumped to face a rush-heavy attack right out of the gate, pointing out this week in a news conference that the Falcons ran the ball more than 70% of the time last season.
For Heupel, this opener is not only a chance to see what his new-look offense can provide but also could serve as a showcase for the defense under coordinator Tim Banks that has enough veterans to take a significant step forward from last year’s mediocrity.
“You’ve got great coaches on that side of the ball,” Heupel said. “They’re very cohesive, and there is a great understanding of what we’re doing defensively. I’m excited to watch these guys play on Thursday night. I really am. Through training camp, we always pull clips when we go into our team meeting of guys playing with great effort and strain.
“We use the word ‘attack’ inside of our team meeting room, and with that group, there are orange jerseys flying around every single day. It’s been fun to watch.”
New SEC policies
The Southeastern Conference announced policies this week for COVID-related event cancellations in all sports for the 2021-22 athletic year.
If a team is unable to begin or complete a regular-season conference event due to the unavailability of participants, that team will forfeit the contest and will be assigned a loss in the conference standings. The opposing team that is ready to play will be credited with a win, and both teams will be deemed to have played and completed the contest for purpose of the conference standings.
If both teams are unable to compete due to the unavailability of participants, they each shall be deemed to have forfeited the game and each will be assigned a loss.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.