Tennessee football: First-team defensive line a bright spot for Vols defense

Tennessee football currently has numerous issues on defense. But the Volunteers’ defensive line is one clear bright spot after the spring game.

Everybody with eyes saw how bad Tennessee football’s first-team defense was in Saturday’s Orange and White game. The Vols got torched on the ground and by Jarrett Guarantano through the air. There are clearly issues for them to work out overall.

However, by and large, those issues remain on the back seven. The secondary was largely at fault for what happened with linebackers making mistakes as well. At least with the first-team, though, the defensive line is one major bright spot for the team.

Perhaps it was because of all the injuries on the offensive line. But Kyle Phillips, Jonathan Kongbo and Shy Tuttle were stars Saturday. Tuttle got a push all day and forced a fumble. Kongbo and Phillips both picked up sacks.

Phillips, meanwhile, was this way throughout the spring, earning the Andy Spiva Award for most improved defensive player. All of this has earned him a ton of respect, and he deserves every bit of it. But he’s not the only one.

Kongbo and Tuttle both showed they’re ready to have an impact as well, and this is the perfect starting point for Jeremy Pruitt and Kevin Sherrer as they try to install that 3-4 defense. Provided there are no injuries, the potential here is through the roof.

And by the way, no injuries is a huge thing. Consider for a second that Phillips and Tuttle, both members of the 2015 Tennessee football recruiting class, both had season-ending injuries in 2015 and 2016. It held them out of both springs.

So with a new staff and new system, this was their first spring fully healthy together. You can’t underestimate how big that is.

Kahlil McKenzie’s early departure created concerns here. He would have been the perfect fit for Pruitt’s 3-4 system, and that threw things for a loop. However, looking at the roster, fans should have expected the unit to still be very strong if everybody could stay healthy.

Phillips is a former five-star, and Tuttle is a former four-star. Combine them with Kongbo, who was a five-star junior college transfer in 2016, and the potential and expectations indeed should be through the roof.

Up to this point, they have reached those expectations. It’s still early, but they have the potential to be elite anchors for a unit that has a lot of work to do. With the summer arriving now, conditioning is as crucial as ever.

Pruitt and Sherrer also need to build depth here. Alexis Johnson was a four-star junior college transfer at defensive tackle as part of Kongbo’s class. He needs to finally step up and emerge to provide depth in the middle. That will help alleviate even more concerns. And it would make the interior line the clear strength of the defense for now.

Next: 4 takeaways from Vols new systems in spring game

The Vols need as much help as they can get. Assuming they struggle with the transition to a 3-4, being a major force up front could help offset that. If the linebackers and specifically edge rushers can step up, that will be huge for Tennessee football. But after the spring, it’s clear that the defensive line is one bright spot up to this point. So they deserve a good bit of praise.

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