Kirby Smart has seen growth in Tennessee’s defense since last season.

Last year, the Vols’ defense was a big area of concern. This year, Tennessee has made a name for itself with its highly-effective run defense. Ahead of Georgia’s meeting with the Vols on Saturday, Smart broke down the improvements in Tennessee’s defense.

“I think the improvement with Tennessee’s defense is they have more experienced players in their system,” Smart said during the SEC coaches teleconference on Wednesday. “They’ve got a lot of players to me that have been playing 2, 3, 4 years. And those guys are very experienced. A lot of playing defense is the experience you had and you’ve played in these big moments.”

With pass rushers like James Pearce Jr., who is 2nd in the SEC in sacks, Tennessee’s defensive line poses a big threat to the run game and to quarterbacks. For Smart, that is what has made the Vols’ elite on defense this season.

“They have talented players, they have more size across the defensive line and they play with great pad level and strike,” Smart said. “So they’ve improved immensely with how aggressive they are, they’ve got a great pass rusher that’s a freshman that’s come on and been a big impact. So you just see it all over the tape and they’re playing at a high level.”

Georgia is looking to outplay the Vols’ defense this week and pick up a big win on the road. Tennessee is coming off a crushing loss to Missouri and looking to bounce back with an upset over the Bulldogs.

The game between the Bulldogs and Vols kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.