Tennessee football: Notes from Vols coaches fall camp media session

4. Deep rotations and versatility

One thing that was very clear was how much Tennessee football wants to run deep rotations with guys who can play multiple spots. On defense, Ansley made that clear when he said he wants to be able to run eight, nine and 10 defensive backs.

"“We play so many different multiple packages, you want to have fresh legs and guys that can do different skills sets, so that’s why we try to teach everybody more than one position to create depth within the defense.”"

Sticking with the defense, Rumph, said nobody has the outside linebackers spot locked down. He added that he’s working with the linebackers to be able to play all four spots, and specifically touted Daniel Bituli for that.

On offense, Chaney said he’s looking for 18 to 20 guys who could count as starters, not just 11. But Martin made the real case for that at receiver, as he touted Jordan Murphy, Josh Palmer, Marquez Callaway and Jauan Jennings at different times. He said he wants to be able to rotate in and out as he pleases.

"“If you’re two-deep is just as good as your starters, you don’t care who’s in the game.”"

Of course, go-to receivers are still a big thing. But Tennessee football does need to be able to turn to multiple options when needed, so Martin, Rumph, Chaney and Ansley know what they’re talking about. This is all part of working to build depth. And they seem to be focused on doing that.