Previewing the Tennessee Defense.

#52
#52
LittleVol said:
Losing Taylor and Bituli will cause for concern.
However Crouch, Bennett, and Harrison got significant reps last season. They're not brand new and the d-line is as good as anyone in the SEC. Secondary as well.

Throw in
Key Lawrence
Morven Joseph
Bryson Eason and you have to like what this defense brings.
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I was about to say we could use at least one new person to step up in the secondary. We are good in the secondary, but not great yet. Maybe Key Lawrence, Slaughter, or another will be that guy.
 
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#53
#53
Our defense will be solid. Top half of the SEC and top 30 again nationally.

Our play at QB will decide if we win 7 games or 10. With JG likely the starter game 1...I stand by my prior 8 and 4 plus another bowl win to get us to 9 hopefully. 2021 we should challenge for the East. Likely won't be favorites... but we will have a shot at it. Our talent level should be better than UF(FU) and close to UGAys...
 
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#56
#56
Not concerned about the D. Secondary should be solid, especially at corner, DL finally has depth (was looking forward to seeing Simmons after a full year in the weight room and spring practice but Covid-19 ruined that). Understand the sense of concern about LB after the start to last season, but everything I see says Henry T has the leadership to match his talent, Crouch was solid in his transition to the SEC and the 2020 class added depth. Just wish J.J. could finally see the light. Such a disappointment so far.

I said last year that Harrison would prove to be the steal of that 2019 class, time for him to make a leap as a pass rusher.

Glad to see the players can come on campus in a week to workout. That's the key to the 2020 class making a contribution.
 
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#57
#57
Eastknox865 said:
My only point I was making is outside of HT the other starting linebackers are a concern or question mark however you want to spin it. Never said they wouldn't be great just a concern with the lack of production coming back at the position. My opinion
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Our point is all of the guys we have are pretty good players. Last year we had a real concern on the dline. We lost all the starters and were replacing them with juco players, converted players, a transfer & freshmen. Every LB with the potential to play for us this year is a 4 star or better player and most of them played a reserve role last year. That is night and day from our dline situation last year. We returning 2 of the 4 starters, Bennett was damn near a starter, and all the backups return. We understand that u are saying u want to see more. IMHO its only a concern if u dnt have the horses in the stable (which we clearly do at LB). EVERY thoroughbred had a 1st race even the greatest thoroughbreds. Now if we showed up at the derby with mules and pony's your concern would be legit.
 
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#59
#59
Secondary and DLine are going to be better, especially the DLine. LBs are gonna shock. To'oto'o is a monster and Banks will redeem himself in every way. Then there's the rest. Look at Joseph's video. The Memphis trio.... Don't forget Tyler Baron. I believe he plays LB to start. LBs will be as good to start the season( remember there was no Bituli the first couple of games)... actually they will be better this year than last to start. They will be much better, as will the whole D, by the end. This will be the best Tennessee D since the early 2000s.
 
#60
#60
chef3531 said:
You should change your name to MrPositivity. Good grief
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I thought that was pretty funny. Not only did i play football but ive been coaching travel football the last 7 years in the same town Marquez Callaway and Jake Fromm come from. Callaway played with my little brother against Fromm so I watched those guys grow up. Callaway and my brother are close and he actually advised him to come to UT. I didnt play college ball but i did play football from the time i was 5 til i was 17. I was on the Kingsbury team that lost the semifinals to Greenbriar in 05. I played on one of the best defenses in the state that year. I also coached my travel team to an undefeated record and the #5 D1 specs ranking in the state of Ga last year. These teams are filled with the top rising talent in Ga and we play teams from EVERYWHERE in the south. Fla, Carolina's, Bama u name it. Uga's center Trey Hill has a nephew that was my Qb last year. The kid is 6'1 at 12yrs old with a cannon and can make every throw on the field. He will be a 4-5 star recruit in 3-4 yrs. I said all that to say Idk how eastknox85 came to his conclusion of me not knowing anything about the sport based off my belief that the reserves will step up lol.
 
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#62
#62
Honestly we just need someone to step up at inside backer to play with Henry. Our outside backers pass rush.
 
#65
#65
RockyTopTexas said:
Could be.. or Bryson if JJ and Crouch can’t get the job done.
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Im with u either way. Thats why im not concerned. Crouch, JJ, Eason, or French could all play that spot. All 4 guys are big enough right now and super talented so i wouldnt be mad with either one. If its Crouch then someone stepped up outside. If its J.J. it means he took the next step and if its Eason or French that probably means they are on an HT trajectory.
 
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#66
#66
HuntlandVolinColo said:
Harrison is going to be a really good edge rusher. And one of those freshmen might be as well, perhaps Morven or one the Memphis 3. Crouch will be the ultimate compliment to Henry T'oo T'oo as long as he recovers fully from off-season surgery.

Secondary and DL should be very good and solid!
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This! Freshmen will only be better this year as well.
 
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#67
#67
Eastknox865 said:
Yeah when the discussion is with uneducated fans
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Speaking of education.

Butler is a DE in our base scheme.
Roman Harrison is an OLB/Edge.
In the 3-4 the DE does not primarily set the edge. He's a disruptor that lines up mostly on the OT and helps control B and C gaps.

The OLB/edge lines up on the TE and controls the D gap or edge of the line of scrimmage.

So Harrison is NOT a DE ....even if he puts his hand on the ground occasionally.
 
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#68
#68
901 Orange said:
Im with u either way. Thats why im not concerned. Crouch, JJ, Eason, or French could all play that spot. All 4 guys are big enough right now and super talented so i wouldnt be mad with either one. If its Crouch then someone stepped up outside. If its J.J. it means he took the next step and if its Eason or French that probably means they are on an HT trajectory.
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Don't count on JJ Peterson being good enough to start imo. Eason is a real prospect and the physicality will not be a problem for him. Physicality and schemes are a problem for JJ even after 2 years of college.
Crouch and Harrison both played 3-4 OLB for the first time ever last year. Year 2 will be night and day from year one 👍. Then Bennett is right there too.
 
#69
#69
LittleVol said:
Don't count on JJ Peterson being good enough to start imo. Eason is a real prospect and the physicality will not be a problem for him. Physicality and schemes are a problem for JJ even after 2 years of college.
Crouch and Harrison both played 3-4 OLB for the first time ever last year. Year 2 will be night and day from year one 👍. Then Bennett is right there too.
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I cant count out JJ just yet. He is only a soph. There is still so much time left for him. The light comes on at different times for all players and he has 3 yrs left so lets just wait out the process. He came unprepared so there was never a real reason to expect a major impact from day 1. You are not going to show up to campus a week before the season starts, out of shape, and expect to accomplish anything that year other then shedding weight. I didnt see a problem with physicality i saw a problem with conditioning which leads to injuries. He looked ok against Bama last year. That was the 1 game were i noticed he was there. IMO JJ came thinking this transition would be a cakewalk. Of course it wasnt and now he is behind the 8 ball. Im not saying he will be an SEC superstar next year. I just think he is talented enough to compete for the starting gig and at the very least earn a rotational spot. Even if he just has a role as a rotational guy it sets him up to be a starter his JR & SR year. That puts him on par with 95% of college football players. That in itself shows u just how special HT really is.
 
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#70
#70
LittleVol said:
Speaking of education.

Butler is a DE in our base scheme.
Roman Harrison is an OLB/Edge.
In the 3-4 the DE does not primarily set the edge. He's a disruptor that lines up mostly on the OT and helps control B and C gaps.

The OLB/edge lines up on the TE and controls the D gap or edge of the line of scrimmage.

So Harrison is NOT a DE ....even if he puts his hand on the ground occasionally.
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Word! 😎
 
#71
#71
Eastknox865 said:
Let me touch on this for second. Butler and Roman played defensive end last season so that's that. Ok so you did your research of the stats and Crouch had 28 tackles to lead that group. So basically you're proving my point without understanding the game as well as my comment for concern. Our returning linebacker omitting HT only had 28 tackles not in three or four games for the entire season. So basically a group of guys that played back up roles now become starters . I never said they couldn't do it I said it's a concern. If you can't understand that then you must just need to argue
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LB, especially Inside LB, is not that easy to come in and play. That is why the lesser experienced LB's generally come in as outside LB's. You are basically the defensive QB. Well, not basically, you are the defensive QB.
But, I agree, the LB position, while talented, is a concern. Just like the QB position is a concern.
 
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#72
#72
In Bituli and Taylor, we lost 11.5 sacks, and 115 tackles. I am not even counting the qb pressures, forced fumbles, drawing double teams, tipped balls, and the fear factor of getting de-cleated, by Bituli. LB is a concern.
 
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#73
#73
kbear01 said:
In Bituli and Taylor, we lost 11.5 sacks, and 115 tackles. I am not even counting the qb pressures, forced fumbles, drawing double teams, tipped balls, and the fear factor of getting de-cleated, by Bituli. LB is a concern.
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Going into last year we had Will Ignot that had started and was primary backup in 2018. And Daniel Bituli. Henry To'oto'o took Ignots spot...
He was supposedly a building block and Pruitt upgraded. Do you see my point?

Crouch has actually played in 2019.
Harrison has played.
Johnson and Bennett have started.
And then you got guys like Eason that could probably factor in day 1. Just like Henry To'oto'o. We're not empty of talent or experience...
 
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#74
#74
901 Orange said:
I cant count out JJ just yet. He is only a soph. There is still so much time left for him. The light comes on at different times for all players and he has 3 yrs left so lets just wait out the process. He came unprepared so there was never a real reason to expect a major impact from day 1. You are not going to show up to campus a week before the season starts, out of shape, and expect to accomplish anything that year other then shedding weight. I didnt see a problem with physicality i saw a problem with conditioning which leads to injuries. He looked ok against Bama last year. That was the 1 game were i noticed he was there. IMO JJ came thinking this transition would be a cakewalk. Of course it wasnt and now he is behind the 8 ball. Im not saying he will be an SEC superstar next year. I just think he is talented enough to compete for the starting gig and at the very least earn a rotational spot. Even if he just has a role as a rotational guy it sets him up to be a starter his JR & SR year. That puts him on par with 95% of college football players. That in itself shows u just how special HT really is.
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I agree, not counting out JJP just yet. If I remember correctly, thought coaches made the comments last season that he was really close to taking the next step. I think spring practice could have been the opportunity for him to make the move. I expect JJ and Crouch will both see a lot of time on the inside this year opposite HT.
 
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