Tennessee’s defensive line looks a little different this time around, and that’s the point.
For the last several seasons under Josh Heupel with Rodney Garner coaching the room, the Vols have leaned on experience up front. In 2024, that group was loaded with veterans nearly everywhere you looked: James Pearce Jr. and Joshua Josephs at LEO, Bryson Eason and Elijah Simmons as fifth-year seniors, Omari Thomas and Omarr Norman-Lott on the interior, Jaxson Moi in the middle, and Dominic Bailey, Tyre West and Jayson Jenkins working at defensive end.
Last season brought more of the same in terms of age and familiarity. Josephs, Eason, Moi, Bailey and West were back, and younger players like Caleb Herring, Jordan Ross, Daevin Hobbs, Nathan Robinson and Tyree Weathersby were asked to take on bigger jobs after easing into the rotation.
This year’s group is built differently. Tennessee still has some veterans at the top, but the room is thinner in terms of proven bodies. Jim Knowles’ first defense in Knoxville is going to be powered by youth and talent, with several highly rated players trying to claim major roles.
There are real questions on the edge about where the production comes from. At defensive end, Weathersby is back for his fourth year, and this is the first time he’s really sitting near the top of the depth chart as a steady piece. Behind him are sophomore Mariyon Dye and freshmen Carter Gooden, Breeze Carter and CJ Edwards.
The LEO spot has its own new look. Tulane transfer Jordan Norman is the headliner there, with sophomore Christian Gass and freshmen Hezekiah Harris and Kedric Golston also in the mix.
Inside, Tennessee is leaning on a pair of returners who flashed when healthy. Hobbs and Robinson are back after productive 2025 seasons, and Penn State transfer Xavier Gilliam joins them to form what projects as the top three in the rotation. The depth behind that trio is mostly untested, with sophomores Ethan Utley and Isaiah Campbell and freshmen Darryl Rivers, Dereon Albert, Nuk Simmons and JJ Finch waiting for their turn.
The lack of long-time veterans doesn’t automatically spell trouble. Tennessee has recruited the edge and interior spots well, and there are top-ranked prospects in the room competing to fill the openings.
Garner, though, isn’t interested in using youth as a shield. He said the young players are giving him good moments at practice, but he wants it cleaned up and made more consistent.
“Just coming out of yesterday, just been very inconsistent,” Garner said. “You have a good day, you have a bad day.
Obviously, you’re not moving the needle when you’re going up and down. Can’t have those roller coaster moments, and like I told them this morning in the meeting, we got to be climbing that mountain every day.
We can’t take steps backwards. Nobody’s got time to hear, nobody wants to hear about being young, who all we lost.
All that, that’s irrelevant. We got to be moving that needle every single day that we go out there on that field.”
Tennessee opens the season in under a month against Furman on September 5, and then the Vols head to Georgia Tech the following weekend for a road test that will tell them plenty about how ready that young front really is.
In Other News...
Tennessee Already Has A Tight End Concern In Fall Camp
Tennessees tight end room is already getting a closer look in fall camp after Ethan Davis was slowed by an injury on the first day of practice. The sophomore has been out of action since then, and with the unit still sorting through recent transfers and new arrivals, the Volunteers have been forced to spread the work around while Davis watches from the sideline.
In the meantime, DaSaahn Brame, Cole Harrison and Luca Wolf have taken reps and gotten more chances to show where they fit. Tight ends coach Alec Abeln has indicated the injury is not considered serious, and Tennessee is treating Davis carefully rather than rushing him back, but the opening stretch of camp has already put some early pressure on a position group that needed clean reps. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee May Already Be Leaning On Two Newcomers Up Front
Tennessees front line looks a lot different this fall, and not just because the Volunteers are replacing all four defensive line starters from last season after they moved on to professional football. With key depth pieces Jordan Ross and Caleb Herring also gone, the reshuffle has put a premium on the newcomers who arrived to stabilize a position group that has to find answers fast.
Rodney Garner has stressed the need for steady improvement in camp, and two transfers have already started to separate themselves in the conversation. Xavier Gilliam and Jordan Norman have been productive enough to draw attention in practice, and both are positioned to matter right away as Tennessee sorts out who can absorb the snaps and responsibility left behind up front. [Read more 🡒]
Rodney Garner Sent Tennessees Defensive Line A Message They Needed
As Tennessee closes in on the 2024 season, Rodney Garner has made it clear the defensive line still has work to do before it looks like a finished group. The veteran coach has seen enough in practice to know the position room cannot afford to drift through August, especially with departures already thinning out the depth chart and new faces trying to carve out roles.
The bigger challenge now is finding someone who can steady the unit and become a reliable presence up front. Penn State transfer Xavier Gilliam and Tulane edge Jordan Norman are among the additions expected to help, but Garners message was broader than any one player: the line needs consistency, leadership and a clear voice before the real games begin. [Read more 🡒]