Jeremiah Telander walked into Arkansas week sounding like a player who knows exactly what Tennessee is trying to build on defense: fast learning, hard edges, and no wasted steps.
The Volunteers linebacker said the group took on Jim Knowles’ system as a challenge early on, and the veteran presence in the room helped make the transition work. “Yeah, I mean, at first it was definitely a lot on our plate, but we have so many veterans on this defense that we took it as a challenge and we tried to see how fast we can learn it like the back of our hand.
And I'm not surprised at all. We got a great group of guys, and we've done a great job so far.”
Now the focus shifts to Fayetteville, where Tennessee has not won since 2001. Telander didn’t dodge that history.
“Yeah, we haven't won in Fayetteville since 2001. Obviously, I was there two years ago in a one-possession game, and it didn't go in our favor.
That's obviously fuel for us, and Arkansas is a huge rival for just the Tennessee program. It's a border war, and we can't wait to go down there and play some ball.”
He also made clear that the environment won’t be a surprise. “Yeah, obviously you plan a trip over there.
Every SEC stadium is a great environment. At the end of the day, we just got to pack our defense and have a great time on offense as well.”
Arkansas, in Telander’s view, brings a lot to sort through. He pointed to size up front, multiple quarterbacks, a deep backfield and a dangerous receiver.
“Yeah, super big offensive line. They had a great game against Texas A&M up until the end.
They have two great quarterbacks, three good running backs and a wide receiver that is outstanding in No. 6.
We just got to show up and play assignment football and do our job, our one-eleventh.”
For Tennessee’s defense, the identity starts with urgency. Telander said the unit leans into a simple standard: every snap matters.
“Yeah, I just think that that's our mentality on defense. Play every single play like it's your last, and I know that's the mentality that I have.
Sometimes we're going to have to win the game on defense, sometimes the offense is going to have to win the game on offense, and I just know that we're going to do our part, no matter if it's in the first quarter or the fourth.”
That mindset showed up on a fourth-and-one stop last week, and Telander loved the way it unfolded. He also singled out the line that has become part of the group’s language.
“Well, all summer we've been saying, he says, 'Give us an inch,' and 'We will defend it,' is what we say back. We've said that like 50 times now, and then just going back to last game, that fourth-and-one stop, it was just awesome to see that come true.
"He called the freaking big boys on the field, man, and he took a chance on us, and we made it happen for him. So that would be my favorite quote.”
Telander said he’s enjoying the way his own role has shifted around the defense. “Yeah, I'm having probably the most fun I've ever had playing football, but I say that every year.”
He added, “Yeah, so much fun. You know, I'm sometimes on the edge, sometimes in the middle, sometimes on the other side.
It's been a great change-up for me, and just my driving ability to get the front set has been a blast for me.”
He also had plenty to say about teammates, especially on the defensive line. Telander was blunt when talking about one player’s ability to win at the point of attack: “Yeah, you cannot put a one-on-one block against him.
I've never seen anything like it. His quickness and his strength on top of that as well.
But honestly, whenever I first met him, I knew that he was going to be a dog, so it doesn't really come as a surprise for me.”
He said the signs were obvious even before the games started. “Yeah, obviously watching some Penn State tape and seeing, OK, this guy is a dog, but also just his mentality in the weight room and on the field.
He's the loudest guy out there in change-of-direction drills, screaming. And I was like, 'Oh yeah, this guy's going to be a dog.
"Yeah, he is louder than me. I will say, because we usually don't run together in the offseason, and I was watching him one time. I was like, 'Oh yeah, he's going to be a dog.'”
Telander also credited Coach Inge for shaping the room. “Yeah, obviously the 'Inge Built,' he really has built that room to what it is.
He came in my sophomore year and a lot of the guys' freshman year. And it means the world to go out there and play for him.”
He said Inge’s presence carries extra weight right now. “Obviously, his two daughters were at the game last Saturday, and just to be able to see them and see them in the fight as well, it's just such a blessing that he's still fighting and able to be there for us. We're just giving our all for him.”
As for one defender in particular, Telander praised the way he’s playing on the edge. “Yeah, extremely well, extremely violent.
As y'all can see, he's setting the edge extremely well. He's playing lights out.
He's not hesitating whatsoever, and he's going to continue to keep getting better every single week.”
The linebacker said that kind of effort has a way of pulling the whole defense along. “Yeah, without a doubt. Honestly, I thought about that this morning because you get into the day-by-day things, and I'm like, Coach Inge is in there giving everything he's got, and we have no choice but to give everything that we have, especially to do it for the game that we love.”
Tennessee’s secondary earned a nod too, with Telander pointing to more than just athleticism. “Yeah, it goes back to their intelligence.
A lot of people want to say that they're freaky fast, freaky strong, and they are those things, but it comes back to how much film they're watching, the football IQ that they have. I mean, all of our secondary now, they're vets.
They've been in big-time games, and they just can't wait to go make a play.”
He also stressed that the Vols prepare for chaos. “Yeah, sudden changes, we practice that all the time in fall camp and spring practice.
You have to be ready to go at any point. We could get a fourth-down stop, the offense could throw a pick, we're right back up on the 20-yard line.
It don't matter. We got to be ready to go.
"I think there were some times in that game that we could have done an even better job in those sudden-change moments. But yeah, we're going to continue to keep getting better at that.”
Telander said the labels people use for him don’t bother him. “Yeah, I think since Coach Inge has made that a long time ago, people have started talking like that.”
Then he added, “I mean, I love it. Whatever they want to call me, I'm cool with.”
He finished by breaking down one snap from the film room, describing how he diagnosed the look before the play unfolded. “Yeah, so they had this guy that we called Big Red up on the weak side of the line.
From my film study, I knew that that was a guy that they would use in their bone personnel, short yardage. They also used him on their punt team.
"So that was the thing. I was like, 'Oh, Big Red's over there.
They really might throw it over there.' And then everything was just read and react since the ball snapped.”
And he had praise ready for Nate, too, calling out the preparation that led to the moment. “Yeah, it was an extremely athletic play.
Nate was super bummed that he wasn't able to play the week before that, but he never changed his film study and his preparation in the weight room. Nothing ever changed, and he's due for a breakout season.
That was a great moment of his career.”
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