As the fans rushed onto the field after Tennessee’s 26-10 victory over Alabama last weekend at Neyland Stadium, UT defensive coordinator Jim Knowles could be seen dancing on the grass. The normally stoic Knowles then continued showcasing his dance moves once he entered the locker room and was surrounded by players.
Knowles has every reason to bust a few moves.
In his first season at UT, Knowles has helped engineer a complete turnaround of the defense. Often the reason the Vols lost last season, the defense is now the reason they are winning.
UT held Alabama to just 201 yards of total offense, including 54 rushing, forced four turnovers and limited the Tide to only two of 13 on third-down attempts.
“They love him. He’s a Philly guy. Tough, demanding, but they love him and they believe in him,” Heupel says about Knowles. “He cuts up and has some fun with them, too. He’s got a great way of connecting with people. Have seen that really from the very beginning in his own way of doing it. Elite job by him tonight.”
Tennessee’s defense is a big reason why the Vols (6-1, 3-1 SEC) have a clear path to the College Football Playoff if they keep winning. The parity in college football this season means there are no dominant teams and several programs can make a case for inclusion. Last weekend was a perfect illustration. Five of the top seven teams in The Associated Press Top 25 poll lost.
Tennessee’s remaining schedule includes games against South Carolina (road), Kentucky (home), Texas A&M (road), LSU (home) and Vanderbilt (road). The Vols should be favored in nearly every game.
UT’s stout defense and the production of workhorse running back DeSean Bishop have been the linchpin of the team’s wins. It’s not the usual up-tempo, high-scoring attack that has become a trademark for Heupel’s teams. But the Vols are relying on their strengths to find a way to win as quarterbacks George McIntyre and Fazion Brandon try to gain their footing.
The UT defense is allowing an SEC-leading 14.7 points per game and 280.4 yards per game. The Vols have recorded an SEC-leading 30 sacks, and opponents are just nine of 19 in red-zone touchdowns.
That is a major improvement from how the Vols performed last season, when they allowed 28.9 ppg and 397.2 ypg in 13 games. They totaled 22 sacks and allowed 32 of 45 red-zone touchdowns.
“I felt like they were better up front than they were a year ago, and through the course of this season, our defensive line has continued to get better every week,” Heupel says. “Xavier has been elite, but there’s a lot of them that have been playing at a really high level. … I think the key is our front is playing well off of each other. … They’re executing and performing together and it takes a level of unselfishness to do that. It’s a big part of that group right now.”
Immediate impact
Knowles arrived at UT with a reputation as a defensive guru and is showing why the moniker fits. Some wondered if it may take a season or two to implement his system successfully at UT. But the impact has been immediate.
It’s helped to have a few of his former players join him at UT as transfers, including junior defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam and senior linebacker Amare Campbell. Gilliam has a team-leading 10.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and 23 total tackles. Campbell leads the Vols with 46 total tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks.
“I would just say just our professionalism and the way we trust him,” Campbell says when asked about UT’s success under Knowles. “We trust his scheme, we trust what he has planned for us, and when we all do our job on any given play that he has for us, there’s nothing that the offense can do to do anything. So, it’s just the trust that we have in him and the trust that he has in us to call certain plays, and then we’re gonna execute at a high level.”
Senior defensive end Tyree Weathersby had a breakout game against Alabama to earn SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors. Weathersby recorded two sacks and recovered a fumble while playing 42 of UT’s 55 defensive snaps.
Having battled injuries throughout his career, Weathersby has savored being able to play more freely this year and showing everybody what he can do when healthy. He says there is a friendly competition among the defensive players about trying to one-up each other’s performances for the betterment of the team.
“It’s very fun,” he says. “We are all playing for one another. Nobody is being selfish, and we are just having fun out there, honestly.”