Tennessee football: Solon Page III coming will help improve LB depth in 2022

It’s no secret Tennessee football had issues at linebacker this year. Jeremy Banks and Aaron Beasley played hard and were great in coverage, and Banks was great at executing blitz packages and racking up stats in the process.

However, the Vols missed Juwan Mitchell, and not enough other linebackers had developed in Tim Banks’ new system yet. As a result, containment was a huge issue for numerous quarterbacks. Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Matt Corral and Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young both had their best rushing performances against UT.

Next year, with Mitchell coming back from injury and Aaron Willis expected to develop, Tennessee football was always expected to be deeper at linebacker. However, Solon Page III announcing that he’s coming back for a sixth year, which was reported by Patrick Brown of GoVols247, is a hugely underrated reason for UT’s depth improving.

Page took huge strides this year. He played behind Beasley and Banks but still had 38 tackles, two and a half tackles for a loss, two pass breakups and a pick-six. This all came after he entered the season with eight career tackles.

That level of development in a new system was a big plus for the 6’2″ 223-pound linebacker, and with another year in the system, he could pick up on more nuances than anybody else. Honestly, Page probably deserved more time than Beasley down the stretch.

With Mitchell coming back and Kaemen Marley moving over to linebacker, the competition for playing time seems like it will be stiffer for Page. However, his development was rapid and unique this past year, and he seems to be confident that he can take it to another level.

After all, Page has already graduated, so he could look to transfer somewhere else for more playing time. He’s staying with Tennessee football, though, which suggests he’s aware of the strides he could make in another year.

Taking all of that into account, the Vols should be significantly better at linebacker in 2022. Just a little improvement would have certainly allowed them to beat Ole Miss, and they may have even beaten the Pittsburgh Panthers.

As an elite coverage linebacker, Page can help in lots of different ways. It’s pretty clear that he could be a solid leader for Tennessee football, but he can also be a major contributor, which wouldn’t have been expected a year ago.

Banks’ nickel-based 4-3 scheme seems to be a much better fit for Page. That’s what he committed to when he signed under Butch Jones and Bob Shoop. Taking that into account, he is positioned to thrive next year with more action.