On paper, the loss of four key Tennessee football defensive linemen, most notably elite NFL-caliber edge rusher James Pearce Jr., would suggest a major drop-off from a historically great Vols defense last year. The depth up front was a huge reason Tim Banks had so much success.

Their best pro prospect on this year’s team, cornerback Jermod McCoy, tearing his ACL back in January, made it even less likely. Josh Heupel said at SEC Media Days and at the start of fall camp that there was no timetable for McCoy’s return and that it was a day-to-day process, hinting the Vols would have to work without him.

Well, on Friday, all of that seems to have changed. McCoy was back at practice, doing restricted drills, with Tennessee football. Three weeks before the opener, that suggests he’s very close to being ready to go, and even if he isn’t when they kick off Aug. 30 against the Syracuse Orange, he likely will be when they host the Georgia Bulldogs Sept. 14.

If he is by then, everything changes for UT’s defense. They could actually be better than last year.

To deal with the loss of McCoy, Heupel, Banks and Willie Martinez worked a lot with Rickey Gibson III at the No. 1 cornerback spot this offseason, and they also went out and got Colorado Buffaloes transfer Colton Hood. With Jourdan Thomas back and Boo Carter, Jalen McMurray, and Andrew Turrentine more experienced, a healthy secondary would be way bettert than last year.

Meanwhile, the linebacker corps. should be much better. Both starters are back. Arion Carter likely fine-tuned his game to become a complete player with no more issues in coverage, making him All-American caliber, and Jeremiah Telander is now ready to go with starting experience, which he didn’t have when he stepped in for Keenan Pili last year.

Simply put, the back seven for Tennessee football should actually be significantly better than it was last year if McCoy’s fully heathy, and it was pretty good last year. That brings us back to the question surrounding the defensive line, and the concern there shouldn’t run as deep.

While it may not be as elite, Bryson Eason, Jaxson Moi and Daevin Hobbs are all returning defensive tackles, all three defensive ends from last year’s rotation are back, and Jordan Ross and Caleb Herring bring potential at edge rusher, along with Joshua Josephs getting more experience, to offset the loss of Pearce.

All they need to be better is to find more bodies at tackle, and with three four-star commitments, the addition of graduate transfer Josh Schell and the return of Nathan Robinson and Jamal Wallace, there should be options. Once that’s settled, whiel there will be a drop-off, it won’t be as pronounced.

Meanwhile, with the back seven so much better if McCoy is healthy, Tennessee football could be even more dominant on defense. Against a Georgia team breaking in a new quarterback coming to Neyland Stadium that early, it also make the upset possibility very real. As a result, this McCoy news is the best news possible for UT in fall camp.