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Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter (7) during a college football game between Tennessee and Mississippi State at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. | Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Tennessee’s new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is tasked with transforming one of the worst units in the SEC from a year ago, but he’ll have to do it with a little bit of a depth issue at a key position. The Volunteers are left with plenty of questions at the LEO spot following the departure of Chaz Coleman, who was expected to be a major difference maker within the front seven.
The spotlight now shifts to Tulane transfer Jordan Norman, who will likely start and get the bulk of the snaps on the edge. What about behind him, though? That’s the million-dollar question, and it may force Knowles to get a little creative.
On the flip-side of that lack of edge depth is all the depth you have at linebacker. Perhaps quite literally being the deepest and most talented group in the country, Tennessee has about six or seven bodies that could legitimately see playing time this fall.
“It’s extremely deep,” senior linebacker Arion Carter said. “We have at least five to seven guys who can be in a rotation and play. That’s the beauty of it.”
Carter tops the depth chart along with Penn State transfer Amare Campbell. Veteran Jeremiah Telander is back, along with Edwin Spillman. Elite athlete Jadon Perlotte will take another step forward, while Jaedon Harmon and Jordan Burns are ready to fill depth roles. True freshmen T.J. White and Braydon Rouse are big time prospects and made plenty of noise in the spring.
“I trust coach Knowles and our defensive staff to put the right people on the field and put us in the right position to make plays,” Jeremiah Telander said. “We have talked across the board. We gotta go earn it, learn it and take it.”
With depth overflowing at linebacker, could you take some of your best athletes and cross-train them at the edge position? That seems to be the plan, according to Arion Carter.
Carter, who stands in at 6-1, 238 pounds, is obviously a senior who could handle the added responsibilities. Perlotte stands in at 6-4 and has that quick-twitch ability that you see in elite pass rushers. Freshmen White and Rouse are 6-2 and 6-3 respectively and could offer some length and athleticism in spots.
Tennessee does have Christian Gass, Marion Dye and a host of young freshmen that will factor into this equation. However, cross-training and dipping into the deepest spot on the roster makes sense to build out some depth and possibility create a couple difference makers makes a lot of sense.
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