On3 Roundtable: Third down, red zone productions are 'keys' for Tennessee's defense

The Tennessee offense was the highlight-maker and headliner of the rejuvenation of the Volunteers program last year but the team’s defense was no joke, either. While it wasn’t at the standard of the offense, the 2022 Tennessee defense ranked 36th in the country in opponent’s points per game.

Expectations are even higher now for the Volunteers as they head into their third season under Josh Heupel. The team is looking to make the jump from College Football Playoff contenders to College Football Playoff participants.

It’s not a big jump but the Tennessee defense will be crucial in helping the team make it over that Rubicon.

Volquest’s Brent Hubbs joined J.D. PicKell on On3 Roundtable to discuss the Volunteers program. Hubbs highlighted the defense’s ability on third down and in the red zone as the keys to the team’s defense going forward.

“Well they’re gonna play a ton of snaps and they’re gonna give up yards,” Hubbs said.” You just have to ignore the total yards given up. Third down conversions, red zone production defensively are keys. And for Tennessee’s secondary, they’ve got to play tighter windows, they’ve got to walk up and play better coverage. To do that, they need help up front as well, getting home with four guys with their pass rush. That’s the big offseason thing. I think Tennessee’s got enough bodies in the secondary to figure out that puzzle. Who is going to replace Byron Young off the edge and a guy that offensive linemen have to worry about getting home without it being a blitz of six or seven players coming from all different directions.”

The Volunteers ranked 32nd in the country last year with a 34.2% defensive third down conversion percentage. That was solid but behind the defending champions in Georgia, Alabama, Michigan and Ohio State.

Red zone defense was actually a strength of Tennessee last season. They tied for 13th in the nation with opponents scoring 75% of the time they made it into the end zone. That was actually the best number among all College Football Playoff participants except for the Bulldogs.

The question of who will replace EDGE Byron Young is another interesting one that Hubbs raised. Young was an All-SEC first team defender who finished the season with 37 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers.

Having a disruptive pass rusher like Young is a critical element to both third down and red zone defense. If the Tennessee defense is able to find that replacement — and they have talent at that position — it would help the team keep pace or even exceed its production on third down and in the red zone from last year.