A season ago, the Vols experienced a flurry of injuries on the defensive side with limited options to fill the void. While the offensive production was able to counteract the issues, the floodgates burst in a late November matchup with South Carolina.
What Josh Heupel was able to achieve in just his second year as head coach was unprecedented considering the path the Vols’ program was on and had been on for a long time.
Heupel awakened the sleeping giant that was Tennessee football, and he led his team to the Orange Bowl while capturing the first 10-win regular season since 2003.
Still, the lack of depth prevented the Vols from reaching depths even greater. Had they had some depth on the defensive end and beat the Gamecocks, Tennessee likely would have reached the playoffs and a potential championship game.
The Vols had three starting corners entering 2022: Warren Burrell, Kamal Hadden and Brandon Turnage. Burrell suffered a season-ending injury early in the year while Hadden and Turnage both missed some time.
“Depth was an issue, and some of that was just injuries a year ago,” Heupel said. “All of those guys being able to have the reps to make the growth that you want individually and collectively as a unit. Our lack of depth played out during the course of the season with those injuries.”
Aaron Beasley and Jeremy Banks were the only reliable linebackers of the group and Banks missed that game in Columbia. At safety, Jaylen McCollough missed time as well.
Heupel made it a point to address the depth this past summer. He returned all of those guys except Banks while boasting some sophomores and transfers with a year of experience in their belt as well as some talented freshmen.
In the first week of spring practice, it is apparent that this team is deeper, specifically at linebacker and in the secondary.
“You walk out there and you can see the difference in depth, really at every position,” Heupel said. “The new guys, the young guys that we’ve added. Length, athleticism, size on the offensive and defensive lines. We are much deeper than we’ve been. Skill spots, same thing. For us, this spring, we’re truly going to be able to get reps for an entire roster of guys.”
Talented freshmen like linebacker Arion Carter and cornerback Jordan Matthews headline the group while transfers Gabe Jeudy-Lally (corner) and Keenan Pili (linebacker) bring some more experience. Pair that with returning players such as Andre Turrentine, Wesley Walker and contributors all around the defense, and the spring will be crucial to building a solid rotation.
“This spring, I know we’re not putting any labels right now on who’s starting and who’s not,” Matthews said. “The opportunity will present itself, and I have to just capitalize, take the opportunity and seize it.”
Early into spring practice, the Vols’ defense is already building chemistry, and since the bulk of their newcomers are early enrollees, the added reps in the spring will be pivotal for the defense next year.
“We also understand there is a lot of work yet to be done,” defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. “We feel like we recruited at a higher level, and we have some young guys coming in here that we hope will be able to help us transition to being able to be more efficient with our four-man packages. I think we will be. But yeah, if we do that, do it at a high level, it just makes everyone else’s job that much easier.
