Despite the loss of Derek Barnett, Tennessee football defensive coordinator Bob Shoop says the UT Volunteers can be better on defense in 2017.
It’s no secret that the Tennessee football defense faltered down the stretch of the 2016 season, and it kept them from winning the SEC East along with a chance to go to the Sugar Bowl.
But even though the Vols lost record-setting defensive end Derek Barnett, Bob Shoop says they can be better this year.
In an interview with Jimmy Hyams of WNML, the second-year defensive coordinator mentioned new strength coach Rock Gullickson and the fact that the Vols have a chip on their shoulder going into this year as reasons they can be better.
"“Yes, we can be a better defense. We have to be a better defense. We have to play better than we played last year, and we will. This is a different team. Team 121 is certainly different than Team 120.”"
On top of that, Shoop praised the new coaches and the level of energy they bring.
Despite key losses, he does does have a point. This year’s Tennessee football defense has depth on the same level as 2016. It’s pretty clear untimely injuries down the stretch of last season combined with a clash between Shoop and some of his staff members contributed to the defensive collapse.
With Gullickson’s arrival and new staff members, both of those issues could be resolved this year. So there are plenty of reasons that the defense will be better this year.
As great as Barnett is, the only other key losses from the defense were Corey Vereen, Cameron Sutton, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin.
And Sutton missed a large portion of the season while Reeves-Maybin missed the final nine games.
So this defense could also end up being more experienced. And that’s another reason it could be better.