The Tennessee Volunteers’ defense carried the team through stretches in 2024, and the Vols surely wouldn’t have made the College Football Playoff without the stellar play of its deep and talented defensive line.
The Vols’ two-deep rotation, powered by future NFL talent in James Pearce, Jr., Omarr Norman-Lott, and Elijah Simmons, overpowered opposing offense and helped make up for an offense that struggled to find its way – particularly in the passing game – during SEC play.
That trio is now off to play on Sundays, and the Vols will be looking to retool a roster strength for 2025. Fortunately, there is still plenty of talent in the cupboard.
The starters
The Vols’ starting four up front is a bit fuzzy in the middle with some departures, but I see it like this for now: Dominic Bailey at DE, Bryson Eason at DT, Jaxson Moi at DT, and Joshua Josephs at LEO. You can write Josephs name in Sharpie there.
Want to know who was the highest graded Tennessee defender by Pro Football Focus in 2024? Yep, it was Josephs. He posted a PFF defensive mark of 89.8. He also had a run defense grade of 91.4 – tops on the team – and a pass rush mark of 86.4 – second on the team behind Pearce, Jr. He had 22 pressures in 186 pass rushing snaps with 9 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 3 passes defended. He has the talent to become the Vols’ next notable pass rusher after Byron Young and Pearce, Jr.
Bailey was a starter in 2024 and should hold his spot, and Eason should retain his as well. I’ll give Moi an edge over Daevin Hobbs for the moment at the other spot, although the latter will have an increased role this year.
But in Tim Banks’ defense, it doesn’t matter all that much who gets the start. Tons of guys will play, and they’ll play a lot.
Who could step up from off the bench?
Aside from the players mentioned, the notable non-starter (finger quotes for non-starter) is DE Tyre West. The rising senior logged 201 total snaps in 2024, but boy, he made the most of them. He generated 17 pressures in just 102 pass rushing snaps, an excellent rate. He also earned a respectable 72.5 run defense grade from PFF. He should see plenty of action in 2025, whether that’s at the strongside DE spot or by sliding inside some. He’s simply too good to keep off the field.
Behind West, Hobbs, and the rest of the aforementioned players is a group of younger and talented but unproven players. Tyree Weathersby saw limited action on defense in 2024, but he flashed some promise when he was on the field. Jayson Jenkins graded out well in 214 defensive snaps last year (75.5 PFF defensive grade and 75.2 pass rush mark).
We’ll see in fall camp if anyone can come out of the pack and contend for a larger role in Banks’ very committee-oriented defensive line deployment.