Tennessee’s first game week of the 2026 season has arrived, and Jim Knowles is already talking like a coordinator who wants the details hammered into place before Saturday’s orange and white debut against Furman.
Knowles, making his first public run-through with the media before calling a game for UT, said preseason gave him a solid read on the defense - but he knows the real answers start showing up once the games count.
“You see a lot of things in practice. And then when you go to game plan an opponent, you want to take advantage of what your players do best. Of course, you never truly know until the game, but I think we learned a lot during preseason.”
One of the biggest adjustments has come after losing Edrees Farooq to injury. Knowles made it clear Farooq’s absence is a hit, calling him “one of the guys that I was most impressed with from the time I arrived here.” Tennessee has responded by moving pieces around and building flexibility across the secondary.
“So we’ve had to make more guys interchangeable, including Qua (Moss), who I think is very talented.”
Knowles said Moss is being worked at the high safety spots as well as nickel, while the staff also has enough linebackers to handle a big nickel, Sam-type role. He also pointed to Sidney Walton, Dylan Lewis and DJ Burks as part of the group being cross-trained because the room is “a little thin there.”
That broader theme - adaptability - has shaped the whole install, and Knowles sounded encouraged by how the players have handled it.
“I’m really pleased. I’ve found the players to pick things up, to be really diligent in their learning, and very receptive.
Brought in some guys that we know, and the coaches who know me, that certainly helps. But I think there’s a good culture here of learning, and I’ve been impressed with what they’ve picked up.”
He also liked what Tennessee generated up front during camp, especially when the defense went against its own offense.
“I thought we did well in the preseason. Creating some things through various schemes, not going to get into game planning, but we did some things in fall camp that were effective.
So I was impressed with what we could generate against our offense, which is a really good offense. Like anything, game time will tell.
Game time will tell.”
A few players have stood out to him during camp. Jeremiah Telander drew the strongest praise, with Knowles calling him “the heart and soul of our defense” and later expanding on that label.
“Well, he’s Mr. Tennessee.
I mean, he bleeds orange. He’s got a lot of energy.
He’s got toughness. He never makes excuses.
He always wants to get better. He’s a throwback kind of player.
And I think as coaches, or I guess I should say older coaches like me, you like to see those guys who are just tough and gritty and who don’t make excuses. You’re not going to get any excuses out of him.
If he makes a mistake, he’s going to fix it and take accountability for it, which is what you want out of all your players.”
Knowles also singled out Kayin Lee and Xavier Gilliam, saying Lee has grown in how seriously he approaches cornerback preparation and that Gilliam has “really taken the next step.”
The new coordinator has also been tracking a key defensive standard closely: tackling. He said Tennessee’s numbers have improved since spring, though he made it clear the goal is much higher.
“We’ve seen gains. That’s a good thing, right?
We’ve tracked percentages from the spring, and it’s definitely gone up at all positions. I don’t think it ever goes up to the point I want it, until it’s 100%, which you’re never going to be in tackling.
But I have seen tracked analytical gains in our tackling from the spring.”
He added that there’s a proper way to miss, too.
“So, we’re teaching them that, too. If you miss, but you’re on the right angle and you miss, you’ll have a teammate or a sideline there to help you. So there’s a right way, aside from making the tackle, if you do miss, there’s a right way to miss it.”
Knowles has also spent the preseason watching freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon, and he came away impressed with the poise.
“From what I’ve seen, and I don’t study it, but he is cool and calm. He has a lot of poise for a young guy, and he certainly can make plays with his feet, which I know all too well is very dangerous for a defense. But I’ve just been impressed with his maturity for a true freshman.”
On offense or defense, Knowles keeps circling back to the same message: the week’s habits matter. He said he wants Tennessee to play Furman without giving up yards, first downs or anything easy, but the bigger goal is to set the tone for how the team prepares.
“I don’t want to give up any yards. I want to get a shutout.
I don’t want to give up any first downs. Every game you go into, it’s a process.
But mostly I want to teach how we prepare for an opponent, how serious practice is.”
That teaching point led him to one of his sharper lines of the day.
“practice does not make perfect. Right?
That’s a myth. Practice makes permanent.
So, therefore, perfect practice makes perfect.”
He said the standard in game week has to be clear: mistakes in practice need to be corrected there, because a game mistake means he didn’t get the player ready.
Knowles also wants more from his backup safeties over the next couple of weeks. The emphasis is simple: make plays in practice, process quickly and handle the read-and-react demands that come with facing RPO-heavy looks.
“I want to see them make more plays in practice. I mean, that’s exactly what I talked about. I want to see them make more plays in practice, do the right things, make fast decisions, stay on top when they’re supposed to stay on top, drop it into the box, can they see the play and react to it.”
He said those reps matter because game-day performance follows practice production.
“So they’re making progress. They’re making progress.
But we need more out of them in practice. They need to be productive.”
Knowles wrapped with a note of relief after one player’s setback, saying, “My reaction was hooray, hooray. Still felt bad for him.
He has to miss a game. I mean, you don’t want to see a leader of your team and a great player sit out any game.
So I’m just grateful for him and for our defense.”
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