If fifth-year senior linebacker Aaron Beasley picks up right where he left off last season, the Tennessee Volunteers may start compiling more defensive headlines to accompany their seemingly endless offensive accomplishments.
Beasley was a wrecking machine in December’s 31-14 thumping of Clemson in the Orange Bowl, racking up 12 tackles and four tackles for loss, including two sacks. His four tackles for loss tied a Tennessee bowl record and capped a sparkling 11-2 year.
“That’s the Aaron we expect to see every game, but I also think there were some plays that he left out on the field that he could have made,” linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said Friday in a news conference. “The kid has a unique skill set and a high, high playmaking ability. I tell people all the time that the best is yet to come from that kid.”
The Vols held their fourth preseason practice Saturday morning and will have Sunday off. They will resume Monday and are scheduled to scrimmage for the first time Thursday.
Beasley, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound graduate student from Franklin, Georgia, led Tennessee in defensive snaps last season while tallying 76 tackles along with a team-high 13 tackles for loss and three sacks. His effort against Clemson earned him the Orange Bowl defensive MVP honor and a spot on the Associated Press “All-Bowl Team,” but Beasley doesn’t reflect much on that productive evening.