Tennessee football: Defense is clearly Vols' weak link this spring

After two Tennessee football scrimmages, it’s becoming clear that defense remains an issue for the Volunteers this spring under new coach Jeremy Pruitt.

Early on in Jeremy Pruitt’s first spring practice as the Tennessee football head coach, we addressed the issue of the defense appearing to lag behind the offense. This post here questioned whether or not is should yet be a concern.

Well, three weeks later, we can’t say whether or not it should be a concern. But there’s no debate now that the Vols are much further along on offense than they were on defense.

There have been two scrimmages since that time, and Pruitt’s comments after both of them make clear that the defense is an issue. So yeah, we can start raising our eyebrows when it comes to the defense.

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As you can see in this article by Blake Toppmeyer of the Knoxville News Sentinel, Pruitt immediately said that the Vols need to be a better tackling team after the first scrimmage. Despite some issues on the line and blocking, however, he was pretty okay with how the offense performed.

Then came this past weekend’s scrimmage. Tennessee football had major issues in the secondary, according to Mike Griffith of SEC Country. Griffith noted that a disappointing defense was a highlight of the scrimmage.

Add our last post on this about Pruitt being angry at the defense, and there’s no way around it. That side of the ball is struggling right now.

To be fair, Pruitt and Kevin Sherrer are installing a brand new system. So it’s going to take more time than it even would for the offense to pick up the pro-style.

We all know that the transition to a 3-4 is the toughest transition in football. The 2012 Tennessee football team could tell you that.

But keep in mind that the offense is way more banged up. Many key offensive linemen are out right now due to injury, and there’s not even a real quarterback race since two of them haven’t arrived on campus yet. So the defense should have some advantages, and it’s still getting beat.

As we said in our March article, it’s never a good sign when the offense is ahead of the defense this early. And, based on reports, the offense is lightyears ahead.

And if it does go back to the secondary, it goes back to early concerns. Pruitt denied it on National Signing Day, but it appears the Vols really do have trouble with depth back there.

Just as Pruitt denied that fact, Sherrer said last week that fans would love the defense. He did it in a hype video.

What’s clear, however, is that may not be true. The Tennessee football defense has been struggling in the spring. And it may be time to wonder if that will carry over into the regular season.

Next: 5 3-stars who could shine for Vols this year

That 2012 team we keep referring to also had a defensive coordinator from Alabama’s staff. Sal Sunseri, of course, doesn’t have Pruitt’s credentials. But that doesn’t change what’s happening so far. And yes, it’s cause for concern.

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Tennessee football: Defense is clearly Vols’ weak link this spring

By Caleb Calhoun | Apr 18, 2018

After two Tennessee football scrimmages, it’s becoming clear that defense remains an issue for the Volunteers this spring under new coach Jeremy Pruitt.