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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As Tennessee continues preparing for its opener against Appalachian State, new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop continues to implement his defensive system.
Shoop has an abundance of talent to work with in his first season, from veterans who provide experience to talented newcomers still settling in to college life.
Defensive back Cam Sutton, who came back rather than leaving early for the NFL, can already see that his new defensive coordinator is making a difference.
“I’m seeing a lot of amazing things out there on the field,” Sutton told reporters during fall camp. “Speaking from a DB-standpoint, it makes my job a lot easier.
“We have a lot of pressure up front and we’re building that depth. We’ve got a lot of guys who have a lot of experience, a lot of game time experience and we’ve been through a lot of those situations before. We’re able to rotate a lot of guys in and move guys around on our D-line and not have a drop off.
“They’re already a confident group, but they continue to work each and every day, continue to grind each and every day. It’s definitely going to showcase itself on Saturdays. I’m really excited about this group.”
Making a difference on Saturdays is why Butch Jones hired Shoop.
The installment of various defensive schemes is in full gear, and he used the first few days in full pads to install an identity defensively and set the tone for the season.
“We’ve talked about closing games out and that’s why we did what we did at the end of practice today with scrimmaging and a lot of situational football,” Jones said after a recent workout. “We worked on really thinking strategically when you’re tired and understanding situational football when you’re tired at the end of the game.”
Team 119 will be remembered, in part, for its four narrow losses. Jones has encouraged the team to find “25 points” — the total in those four losses.
Losing those close games is nothing to shy away from, but Jones and his staff are embracing it for Team 120 to become better.
So, too, are his defensive leaders.
Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin also decided to return, and he also likes what he sees with Shoop’s scheme.
“With the amount that we have been able to install defensively and the way that the freshmen have been able to catch on to the things we have done, it has been great,” Reeves-Maybin said. “I can definitely see improvements from the past years.”
Shoop said it goes beyond teaching gap assignments and figuring out personnel groups.
“I always say this — continuing to establish a championship culture on our side of the ball,” Shoop said. “Our room is really good. We always start up every meeting with either a joke of the day or a word of the day. We have a close knit group.
“We always emphasize our core values — playing a game of passion, great toughness and a ‘team first’ mind-set. Second, we really talked about individual improvement, player development. If we can improve our players individually, collectively, we will be better. Third, we talked about techniques over tactics. It’s all about fundamentals. It’s about Football 101.”
Dan Harralson covers Tennessee football for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @danharralson.
