Tennessee’s new defensive line coach is already making an impact.

Brady Hoke is eager to make his mark, and it sounds like he is well on his way to molding the defensive front of the Volunteers.

Hoke served as the defensive coordinator under head coach Mark Helfrich at Oregon in 2016. Before that, Hoke was the head coach at Michigan where he compiled a record of 31-20 in four seasons with the Wolverines.

Now Hoke is with the Volunteers where he is stressing competition and dependability to his players.

“I think we have guys that really understand we want to have a rotation, if we can,” said Hoke. “But they know there’s a competition level.”

Hoke also believes it is up to the DL to develop into a dependable unit.

“No. 1, we’ve gotta be a unit that this team counts on,” Hoke said. “We’ve got to really make a mark on how we’re going to play DL and defense at Tennessee.”

Tennessee’s defensive front will face a unique offense when it squares off against Georgia Tech and the triple option for the first game of the 2017 season.