Tennessee’s Corey Miller and the Vols will try to get the team to a bowl game in coach Butch Jones’ first season in Knoxville.
Tennessee defensive lineman Daniel Hood (97) watches from the sidelines during the second half against Alabama.KNOXVILLE – The performances have been ugly for Tennessee’s defense.
The numbers are even uglier.
In blowout losses to Alabama, Missouri and Auburn the past three weeks, the Volunteers were run over for 987 rushing yards and nearly 7 yards per carry, and Tennessee now ranks last in the SEC and 114th nationally out of 125 FBS teams in run defense, allowing 225.9 yards per game.
While both Missouri and Auburn took advantage of the speed deficiency and poor tackling by the second level of Tennessee’s defense, the Vols’ defensive line failed to offer much resistance, too.
“It’s definitely disappointing,” defensive end Corey Miller said after the Vols practiced Tuesday on an off-week schedule. “We’ve had our letdown days. We’ve had our sad days. We come together as a defensive line, and we’ve talked about it. We’ve discussed the past guys. We’ve discussed what Tennessee means to us. It’s all a mentality we’ve got to bring.