Tennessee has opened the season with back-to-back wins, and the defense has done its part. Furman got smothered.
Georgia Tech was kept under control on the road. But cornerbacks coach Derek Jones is not handing out praise like the job is finished.
Jones gave his group a C+ for what it showed against the Yellow Jackets, and his reasoning had less to do with the scoreboard than with the details he wants cleaned up before the schedule gets serious.
“I told those guys coming out of the game, I think we were probably at a C+,” Jones said on Tuesday. “And the reason I say that is because I’ve been trying to harp on where we have to get to to be as good as we can be.
And I’m grading the fundamentals, I’m grading the techniques, I’m grading the stances, I’m grading being able to receive the calls, being able to read your keys and all the things that you didn’t get tested against Furman and probably really didn’t get tested against Georgia Tech that I know we’re going to need throughout the process of the season. So, really trying to make the kids understand what you have to do and the attention to detail you have to play at that position to be as good as you can be.”
For Jones, the biggest issue was simple: missed tackles. He said his cornerbacks missed four of them, and while those mistakes didn’t burn Tennessee against Georgia Tech, he made it clear that kind of breakdown can turn into points against better competition.
“I think the most critical thing that stands out is we missed four tackles,” Jones said. “And at our position, when you miss tackles, they turn into explosive plays.
They turn into touchdowns. And making those guys understand how critical that is.
In the landscape of college football now, we don’t get to tackle a lot. We don’t get to see our guys tackle a lot.
We don’t get to work those drills.”
Tennessee’s next game probably won’t force the cornerbacks into a true stress test either. Kennesaw State comes to Knoxville next, and the Vols are favored by 35 points. But Texas is right behind that, and Jones knows the level of play will need to rise fast when the top-ranked Longhorns arrive the following Saturday.
In Other News...
Tennessee's Kennesaw State Game Has A Knoxville Twist Fans Will Notice
No. 14 Tennessee gets a familiar-tinged matchup in Week 3 when Kennesaw State comes to Neyland Stadium on SEC Network, with the two programs meeting for the first time. For Vols fans, the interest goes beyond a nonconference game against a new opponent, because this one comes with a Knoxville connection tucked into the Owls roster.
Kennesaw State redshirt freshman kicker Daniel Kinney is a former Bearden High School athlete, giving the trip to Knoxville a little extra meaning. Kinney has already seen game action for the Owls and has handled both field goals and extra points, so even in a game that figures to draw attention for Tennessees side, there is at least one local name worth keeping an eye on once the ball gets kicked. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Fans Now Have A Massive Neyland Change To Debate
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Construction is expected to begin in 2026, with completion projected for 2028-2029, giving fans plenty of time to debate what the area around the stadium will look like once the dust settles. For a place so tied to game days and tradition, the scale of the change is hard to ignore, and the questions around how the new district will fit alongside the existing atmosphere are likely to linger well beyond the announcement. [Read more 🡒]
Which Former Vol Delivered Week 1s Biggest NFL Moment
Opening week of the NFL season turned into a showcase for several former Tennessee standouts, with Josh Palmer delivering the kind of moment that grabs attention well beyond a box score. The Bills receiver came down with the game-winning touchdown, while Trey Smith and Darnell Wright each handled full-time work for their clubs by starting and playing every offensive snap. It was a strong early reminder that Tennessees pipeline to the league still runs through players capable of shaping meaningful games right away.
There was more than one Volunteer footprint across the league, too, as other Tennessee alumni made their debuts or got on the field in season openers. The broader takeaway for Tennessee fans is familiar and encouraging: the programs recent veterans are not just hanging around NFL rosters, they are showing up in roles that matter. Even with one headline moment stealing the spotlight, Week 1 offered a fuller snapshot of how many former Vols are carving out real jobs on Sundays. [Read more 🡒]