The Vols’ weak linebackers are getting ready for a tough game against Georgia’s offense.
Tennessee had more linebackers ahead of the season than at any other time under Josh Heupel.
The Vols are down two defenders from that group, though, with only two games left in the regular season.
The new player Keenan Pili hurt himself in just one game and will probably not be able to play again until the end of the year. Because he had already played, the BYU transfer was put in as a starting.
Junior Elijah Herring had to take over as the starting middle linebacker behind Aaron Beasley because Aaron Beasley got hurt.
On the other side, true freshmen Arion Carter as well as Jeremiah Telander played most of the backup snaps.
Carter’s illness in the win in Kentucky, on the other hand, meant that Tennessee would be even weaker for the rest of the year. The second-year player Kalib Perry will now have an even bigger part as a backup.
In third and fourth place, Jalen Smith and Ben Bolton, whose have both played on the field very little, are.
It was clear that the team didn’t have enough linebackers when they lost to Missouri. That night when facing the Tigers, everyone in the room had a bad game, but Herring had the worst.
“I thought that his eyes caught in the incorrect spot on one or two of his reads the other day,” Heupel said of Herring’s play.
“He missed a few tackles in the open field, but he also did some good things.” He needs to keep getting better because he is a young player. On Saturday afternoon, he needs to play really well for us.
“He made things worse,” Jean-Mary said. “I would say that he wasn’t the sole bug. We always begin by identifying what we can improve on better, and I will do the same. That’s the reason I keep talking about the chat before the shot.
When young men with little experience are put in certain roles, you need to be able to support them. That kind of thing. Our experienced guys need to be able to spot the groups, warn the new guys, help them in checks, and so on.
That doesn’t excuse them at all, but we failed to do that as a team. That might have been part of our military problem.
It’s clear that Elijah didn’t handle well, particularly when it came to space. Everything we do is always looked at again, starting with us as teachers.
It was clear to him that he made some mistakes, including some that led to big plays. I expect him to come back this week and bounce into a big way.
The Bulldogs won their first national title in 41 years last year thanks to an incredibly strong defense.
Five players on defense—end Travon Walker, tackles Jordan Davis as well as Devonte Wyatt, linebacker Quay Walker, as well as safety Lewis Cine—were picked in the first round of the NFL draft. This is the most from any school since the draft began in 1967.
Three more Georgia defenders—cornerback Derion Kendrick, linebackers Nakobe Dean and Channing Tindall, and Derion Kendrick—were also picked up in the draft. The Bulldogs will only have three returning defensive players for the 2022 season.
Since then, the turnover has gotten worse. Only cornerback Kelee Ringo as well as safety Christopher Smith are likely to be on the field when Georgia plays No. 1 Tennessee that Sanford Stadium on Saturday. They both started on defense in Georgia’s 33-18 win over Alabama during the CFP National Championship game.
This week, the Bulldogs lost senior out linebacker Nolan Smith due to a pectoral muscle injury that will end his season. In September, safety William Poole quit the team for personal reasons.
Still, Georgia’s defense is the best in the SEC East against the pass (177.1 yards), and it leads the league in both run defense (85.4 yards) as well as total defense (262.5 yards). They play the Tennessee Volunteers in a game that could decide the SEC East title.
That’s pretty good for the defense that lost leader Dan Lanning when he went to Oregon to become head coach.
Glenn Schumann, who coaches linebackers, and Will Muschamp, who coaches special teams and was the head coach at Florida as well as South Carolina, were both made co-defensive coordinators.