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Tennessee football: Updated ranking of Vols 10 assistant coaches for 2020 season

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 19: Tee Martin of the Tennessee Volunteers introduced during a break in the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 19, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 71-68. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 19: Tee Martin of the Tennessee Volunteers introduced during a break in the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 19, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 71-68. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images /

Second Year. 4. player. 839. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Defensive Coordinator; Secondary. Derrick Ansley

If Derrick Ansley has another year like the one he had this past year with Tennessee football, he may become the top coach on this list. Ansley coached three All-SEC caliber players in Daniel Bituli, Darrell Taylor and Nigel Warrior, and just focusing on the secondary, he finally turned Warrior into a superstar safety.

As a result, the Vols got better and better down the stretch, winning games solely due to defense. Ansley’s defensive coaching shut down the Kentucky Wildcats, holding them scoreless in the second half and securing a goal-line stand after a turnover, when nobody in November could stop them with Lynn Bowden Jr. at quarterback. That was his finest performance.

Beyond that, though, he did a superb job against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, and his coaching resulted in two late defensive stands to hold off both the Missouri Tigers and Indiana Hoosiers. His blitz packages were superb all year, and the secondary withstood the loss of Baylen Buchanan, injury to Trevon Flowers and early suspension of Bryce Thompson.

The only things that held Ansley back from moving up were the first two games. Allowing 38 points to the Georgia State Panthers haunted the Vols all year, and the secondary lapse, which he coaches, in the late play against the BYU Cougars was also bad. But he still did a great job. If this year is a repeat, he will be the best coordinator on this list.

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