Now in his fifth season with Tennessee, redshirt senior defensive lineman Dominic Bailey has seen a lot of action on the field. After steadily improving each year, Bailey has rightfully earned a spot as a starter in 2024. Last week, in the win over Alabama, Bailey had a season high four tackles and one sack.
The strong play of the defense held the Tide to 17 points, ending the game with 12 QB hurries, three sacks and nine tackles for losses. Safety Will Brooks and cornerback Jermod McCoy each recorded an interception. So, how was the Vol defense able to hold back the Crimson Tide?
“I think as a team, we all just try to do our job and the best way we can to make sure that we held (Alabama) in the pocket and not let (QB Jalen Milroe) win the game on his feet,” Bailey told the media this week. “Just making sure we pushed the pocket to keep him inside and not let them, like, get to the outside or get to an edge where he can be himself.”
Having a versatile defense surely helps the Vols. With so many different playmakers, it makes it almost effortless to slow up the opposing offense. “It makes it difficult because they can’t just key on one person because any one of us can get hot on the D line,” Bailey said. “So, it makes it fun for us because it makes the job easier, because, you know, they can’t just key on one person and stop us. It’s more of a ‘you got to stop all of us.’”
Riding the high of back-to-back wins against Florida and Alabama, Tennessee is in its second bye week of the season. Keeping that energy and momentum up is paramount as they wait another week to face their next opponent, Kentucky at home.
“Just trying to stay focused, stay locked in on the main goal,” said Bailey on this week’s preparation. “And really this week is more about just us, us focusing on us and getting better because there’s still a lot of things we can work on and get better at. Just the little details, the little, little small things that can make, that can make or break a game.”
With the level of play this defense has shown thus far, it seems that the little details might be the only thing they need to focus on. After all, the Vol defense has held their opponents to under 20 points for eight consecutive games. Tennessee’s defense is currently ranked second in the SEC allowing just 79 yards per game and 2.2 yard per carry. But Bailey isn’t satisfied just yet.
“I think we just need to come in more determined and be more locked and more willing to get better within ourselves, because we still have a lot of things,” Bailey said. “We (are) playing great, but it’s still a lot that we can improve on, and we have to just keep staying focused on that. Yeah, I feel like everybody’s locked in.”
