Roman Harrison knows what he wants Tennessee’s defense to be like. The defensive lineman/linebacker sees a sterling example to strive for everyday in practice.
Harrison, like UT’s coaches, wants more depth on the defensive side of the ball – and he’s starting to get it. Tennessee’s offense has the depth that Harrison desires. The Vols showed as much against Florida when receiver Cedric Tillman was held out of the game with an ankle injury. Despite the absence, Tennessee’s offense didn’t miss a beat. Quarterback Hendon Hooker found receivers Bru McCoy and Jalin Hyatt and just kept rolling on.
Harrison wants the same thing on the defense, to be able to rotate fresh players in with a full roster of defenders that can hold their own against the best in the SEC. Depth is the key.
“That is something that I feel like we have struggled with the past couple of years and with the depth that we have now, there is just more energy for each player that comes in,” Harrison said. “Not everyone is too tired to play a drive or play half of a drive, whichever. So, the energy is up for all of us coming in and we are ready and excited to play, so that is pretty much what it is.”
Tennessee’s defense may never be as dominant as its offense as long as head coach Josh Heupel is in charge. He’s made it very clear that his program will be built around an uptempo offense. That’s how the Vols will recruit, practice and perform. That puts pressure on UT’s defense. Harrison doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, he enjoys watching Tennessee’s offense, even if that means he’s pressed into duty sooner than most defenders would like.
“It is really amazing to see, I mean, we see it pretty much all the time because we have good-on-good,” Harrison said, referring to UT’s first-team offense and defense practicing against each other, “but to see them go out there and execute in the way that they do, it has you in awe. To see Hendon Hooker out there running the ball, juking people, or to see Bru McCoy out there, or Cedric Tillman or Jalin Hyatt. It is a plethora of weapons that they have and they utilize them very, very well. So, it is very fun to look at, just like we are fans for them, too.”
If the Vols can get even close to that, then Harrison will be a very Vol. And there will be far more fans of Tennessee’s defense.
