KNOXVILLE - Last week's open date allowed the Tennessee football team to pinpoint the source of one of its problem areas.
After allowing 745 rushing yards in the first five games of the season, the Volunteers surrendered 791 yards on the ground to Texas A&M and Alabama and dropped to 13th in the Southeastern Conference in run defense.
While not playing, Tennessee actually moved up to 12th after Arkansas allowed Auburn to rush for 543 yards.
"I think the biggest component is not communicating properly," safety Todd Kelly Jr. said Tuesday, "and that disables us to line up as a defense the way we're supposed to be with all gaps filled. In terms of scheme, you can put up the X's and O's, but if we don't communicate to make that work out, there's going to be errors. That's what we focused on on the bye week.
Tennessee will gauge how much improvement it made during the open week against South Carolina's SEC-worst rushing offense. The Gamecocks set a new season high by running for 197 yards in last week's 34-28 win against Massachusetts. The total against the Minutemen surpassed what South Carolina totaled against Mississippi State, Georgia and Kentucky (155).
Alabama and Texas A&M, on the other hand, are second and third in the conference in rushing.
"We're playing good teams," Vols defensive tackle Kendal Vickers said. "We know what they're capable of, but we've got to execute better on our end. A lot of times a lot of big runs we've had, we've been like one guy away. We've just got to control what we can control, and we'll be successful if we do that."
Kelly refused to blame injuries for the struggles on a Tennessee defense that has allowed 43 runs of 10 or more yards, the 10th-most in the SEC, and Vickers said shoring up the run defense starts up front with the linemen staying in their proper gaps and getting off blocks.
"When we haven't communicated, we've given up big plays," Kelly said. "That's probably the biggest component. When you don't communicate, it leads to other things that people see. No one can see us talking, but they see the end result, which is big plays. That all comes down to and boils down to not being in the right position where you need to be."
Fine on the inside
With Alexis Johnson still dealing with a hip injury, the injured Kahlil McKenzie out for the season and Danny O'Brien dismissed, the Vols could have only three true scholarship defensive tackles for Saturday and beyond.
Tennessee will count on Vickers, Shy Tuttle and Quay Picou to carry most of the load, but some defensive ends such asa Kyle Phillips and Dimarya Mixon will have to slide inside for a handful of snaps.
"K.P.'s been getting a lot of reps on the inside," Vickers said. "He's been doing a good job. He had to go in in the Alabama game, and he did a good job getting off the ball. We're going to need Dimarya. He's been repping on the inside, too, and we're going to need him as well.
"They're all stepping up. They want to be in that role, and we're going to need them to."
Picou, a sophomore out of Georgia, played sparingly prior to the Alabama game, when he made two tackles and recovered a fumble in by far the most significant action of his collegiate career.
"I love Quay. He comes out and works hard every day," Vickers said. "That's all I can ask. We're going to need him to step up this week and for the rest of the year, and that's what I expect of him. I'm going to be hard on him. I'm always hard on him, but I know what he can bring to the table.
"Quay, I'll stay on him to keep working, and he'll be all right."
Warrior watch
Freshman Nigel Warrior was one of Tennessee's preseason standouts, but despite coaches and players raving about his ability, the son of former Vol Dale Carter rarely has played except for special teams this season.
With the uncertain status of Micah Abernathy (hamstring), the Vols needing better play at safety and extra time to get him more work in practice, now would be a good time for the coaches to show more trust in Warrior.
"I think Nigel is a phenomenal player," Kelly said. "He's really into the playbook, and I'm trying to help him learn the scheme and tactics that come along with that. He's one of the most athletic guys that we have on the team.
"Strong, fast physical - he can really do it all. I'm just making sure he focuses on worrying about his position as well as knowing what the other guys are doing around him. I think that's huge for him."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.