3. Edge Rusher (Outside Linebacker)
Position coach: Chris Rumph
Notable players: Darrell Taylor, Deandre Johnson, Kivon Bennett
Tennessee football returns both key outside linebackers in Darrell Taylor and Deandre Johnson. After Jonathan Kongbo’s season-ending injury last year, those were the guys that everybody relied on to make big plays.
Taylor did just that with multiple multi-sack games, and Johnson showed himself to be a great sidekick. This year, expectations are for Taylor to burst into a superstar and for Johnson to arrive more and look like Taylor did last year.
Those are definitely plausible things, and they showed nothing in the spring to suggest they wouldn’t be able to do that. But what puts this unit so high on our list is the fact that other guys began to stand out.
The coaches specifically started touting Kivon Bennett, a guy who surprisingly arrived as an outside rusher. Meanwhile, Jordan Allen, once a four-star junior college transfer, was able to record two sacks in the spring game.
All of a sudden, the Vols have proven performers and some depth at the position. With only two outside linebackers usually on the field and one of them sometimes lining up at defensive end when the Vols use their four down linemen set, this is a huge deal.
Jeremy Pruitt needed options here, and it looks like he finally has them. What a great way for Derrick Ansley to start off his tenure as defensive coordinator! This spring, UT showed signs that it could have a deep rotation here, and that’s a big deal.