Tennessee football: Five encouraging signs for Vols despite 0-2 start

4. Tennessee’s front seven is developing, and Daniel Bituli is back.

We all saw how awful Tennessee football was at containing the Georgia State Panthers’ offense in the season-opener. Shawn Elliott torched Derrick Ansley and Jeremy Pruitt by turning to Dan Ellington and maximizing his mobility. The result was disastrous.

But, it’s worth noting that the Vols only had one defensive tackle in the rotation that first game who had ever played a snap at the FBS level. They lost all three starters from last year’s line, and their only returning contributor, Emmit Gooden, suffered a season-ending injury back in August.

Then there was the issue that Daniel Bituli was out at linebacker to clean up a minor injury. He is one of only two inside linebackers with experience at the position after Darrin Kirkland Jr.’s injury-forced retirement, and he is also the guy who calls the plays for the defense. That forced Jeremy Pruitt to turn to Henry To’oTo’o, a freshman, before he was ready.

So the struggles were understandable. But if you noticed, there was dramatic improvement from that game to the game against the BYU Cougars. As To’oTo’o got a feel for the position, he became a very effective player. And outside of overtime and a couple of bad angles taken in regulation, the unit improved dramatically.

Now, with the unit looking much better, Bituli is back in the lineup. He has a chance to get back in rhythm while saving himself against the Chattanooga Mocs, just in time for SEC play. So watch out. The front seven could be leaps and bounds better in two weeks.