All A.J. Johnson did as a sophomore in 2012 was lead the Southeastern Conference in tackles.
He had 138 total. But those were just tackles, as Tommy Thigpen puts it. And those aren't enough.
"He's gotta do better," Thigpen, Tennessee's new linebackers coach under Butch Jones, said after practice Thursday morning. "He made a lot of tackles, but what we've emphasized is production.
"Tackles are tackles," Thigpen continued, "but sacks, tackles for losses, caused fumbles, fumble recoveries, that's what we want out of him this year.
"He told me he had one sack his whole career, so we've got to get that up. There's a lot of things we can do better as linebackers. There's always room for improvement."
That one sack came last season, tacked on to an already full stat line that included 8.5 tackles for loss.
Of the league-best 138 tackles, 75 were assists. He had one pass break up, one fumble recovery and eight quarterback hits.
Still, plenty of room to get better, according to Thigpen. And in 2013, less might be more.
"I thought last year we did a lot of things, some guys did too much," he said. "Just do your job. There's 10 other guys on the football field. Don't play like you're the only one out there.
"For us, fit your gap first, do your job, then go make a play. But don't play outside the system."