I have to be honest. I never thought I’d see what I have seen from Tennessee coach Josh Heupel in the past week.
Sure, I know that Heupel said defense was very important to him after the Vols beat North Carolina State when he talked about three former Vol defenders: defensive end Reggie White, linebacker Al Wilson and defensive back Eric Berry. I also knew he has talked about complementary football throughout his career, that the defense will help the Vols offensively and vice versa. Still, I was skeptical.
I wondered, sometimes aloud, if the Vols could ever recruit elite defensive players and develop them given Tennessee’s up-tempo style that took college football by storm in 2022. We’ve all seen offensive gurus that are much more average in other facets of building a football program.
Yet, here we are.
The Vols defense rank No. 1 in the nation with 176 yards allowed per game, second in the country with just 50 yards allowed per game rushing and fifth in the country in scoring defense, allowing just seven points per game.
The Vols have been so good, in fact, that they’ve made a list they shouldn’t even be on. Tennessee’s entire defensive line was named a “player” of the week by ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit.
Let’s take this a step further. Imagine Tennessee receiving any sort of hardware for their defensive backs in 2022, when the Vols couldn’t stop any quarterback with a pulse, ranking 127th in the nation in pass defense. Now, led by a potential superstar, the Vols rank 11th in the nation in passing defense.
Sophomore Jermod McCoy has been so good that the transfer from Oregon State was named the national defensive back of week by the Jim Thorpe Award committee.
McCoy and the rest of his defensive backs have certainly been aided by an aggressive defensive front that constantly harassed opposing quarterbacks and has given up just 1.5 yards per carry.
Elijah Simmons joins Josephs and McCoy in being named to the Pro Football Focus Week 4 SEC Team of the Week. The senior’s size and athleticism makes him a formidable threat to opposing offenses.
Along with the defense, Tennessee was so good last week against Oklahoma that Heupel was named the coach of the week by the Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards committee.
If Tennessee’s defense keeps playing the way it has, this won’t be Heupel’s last award. Moreover, he might just win the same award for the entire season because of his defense. I thought Heupel would be very successful at Tennessee, but because of his defense?
I certainly never saw that coming.
