KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 11 Tennessee is coming off a 26-10 win over then-No. 6 Alabama, but that’s behind them now, and it’s on to Columbia, South Carolina.
The defense has been a huge talking point, especially Xavier Gilliam and the defensive line. “Unselfish” is a word used on a daily basis around this group, and one piece of proof is how often the defensive backs are making plays in the backfield.
The Vols’ front eats up so much attention, and on certain calls that’s by design. It frees players like Dejuan Lane, Qua Moss, Ty Redmond, and the rest of the secondary to make plays near the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles continues to dial up a suffocating defense that takes away what the opponent does best.
Against Alabama, that meant taking away almost everything. The Crimson Tide finished with 201 total yards on 55 plays, an average of 3.7 per snap. They ran for 54 yards on 26 carries (2.1 per rush), converted just 2 of 13 third downs, and were held scoreless in the second half. Tennessee recorded five sacks for 35 yards, 10 tackles for loss, five forced three-and-outs and four takeaways.
“It’s very beautiful when everybody’s doing their job as a defense,” Lane said Tuesday. “We all want to make plays, but there’s not a selfish player on the team, so everyone’s gonna do their job and everybody’s gonna get a chance to eat.”
Lane spoke to how the components feed off each other. Which was seen on Saturday. Tyree Weathersby never gave up on a play and sacked Keelon Russell due to the elite coverage.
“I think we have one of the top secondaries in the nation, and then we lead in sacks,” Lane said. “If the quarterback’s holding the ball for too long, then our pass rush is gonna get to him. So we call that coverage and rush working together.”
Lane was everywhere. The junior defensive back finished with five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, an interception, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. His interception came late in the first quarter, when he picked off Russell at the Alabama 43 on third-and-10.
“When the receiver got to the top of his route, I kind of peeked the quarterback, and he was getting ready to throw,” Lane said. “I said, ‘Hold on. It’s coming my way.’ So I jumped up and I grabbed it, and it was amazing.”
The bigger one came with 1:53 remaining in the first-half. With Alabama facing fourth-and-1 at the Tennessee 14 and trailing 12-7, Daniel Hill was stripped and Lane recovered at the 11, keeping points off the board.
“As soon as the ball snapped, I kind of saw him fumbling it, and then it had hit the running back’s hands and kind of bounced off of him,” Lane said. “I just saw it all the way and just decided to just dive on it.”
Lane is among the SEC leaders in interceptions and is also in the mix in sacks. On Tuesday, he gave us the inside scoop on which play type feels better to make.
“The interception definitely feels better, ’cause in my opinion, that’s the best play in football,” Lane said. “It’s a crazy adrenaline rush. A tackle for loss is cool, but a turnover is much more beneficial for the team.”
Lane wasn’t the only defensive back making noise near the line. Moss pressured Russell twice, including on the final drive, when his pressure forced the end-zone interception by Kayin Lee that ended Alabama’s last chance. Redmond added a pass breakup and was part of a secondary that held the Tide without a pass longer than 20 yards.
That’s the payoff of what Knowles is building. When the front commands double teams, someone else is left free, and Tennessee’s defensive backs have been ready to take advantage.
The challenge now is doing it again on the road, and South Carolina brings a similar test to Williams-Brice Stadium. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers has completed 115 of 187 passes (61.5%) for 1,338 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s just as dangerous with his legs, rushing for 411 yards and two touchdowns on 67 carries, an average of 6.1 yards per attempt.
Lane said the plan doesn’t change much from one mobile quarterback to the next. He also spoke to the way Tennessee dictates the flow of the opposing team’s offense.
“Every team has their tendencies, like we have our tendencies,” Lane said. “Week to week we kind of switch it up a little bit, but we still stick to our bread and butter as well, because teams have to stop us. A lot of times, I don’t really think we play defense. I think we play offense, by the way coach [Knowles] calls the game, by how aggressive we play. We tell teams where they’re going to run the ball, where they’re going to pass the ball.”
Tennessee has already shown it can handle that kind of quarterback with Russell, who finished Saturday with 6 net rushing yards on 11 carries after being sacked five times, and the Vols kept him in the pocket for most of the afternoon. Now they get a chance to do it again in Columbia.
No. 11 Tennessee and South Carolina are set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Williams-Brice Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN, with Wes Durham (Play-by-Play) and Dusty Dvoraceck (Analyst) on the call. Taylor McGregor will have the sideline report.
