Vols' defensive line headlines second spring football scrimmage

The three-and-half year project of building up Tennessee's defensive line has taken it from liability to one of the team's biggest strengths three weeks into the fourth spring camp of the Josh Heupel era.

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The Vols now have experience, newcomers with high ceilings and depth, which again headlined a second closed scrimmage inside Neyland Stadium Thursday night.

"Our defensive line has brought great energy and consistency every single day that we've been on the practice field," Heupel said. "Veteran group, especially on the interior that has kind of led the way. Our edge group continues to get better and the young guys, the new guys have really grown inside of it really quickly. They're playing with great pad level.

"They're using their hands better than they ever have and I'm not just talking in pass rush, (but) in run game, too. Really like what the group's done."

Tennessee returns nearly every key contributor from a group that was among the top run-stopping defensive fronts in the SEC in 2023, including seniors Omari Thomas and Omarr Norman-Lott on the interior.

There are a plethora of options behind them, too. Senior tackles Elijah Simmons and Bryson Eason are back after making strides a year ago. Junior Jaxson Moi was a transfer portal addition that previously played in 24 games and made eight starts at tackle over two seasons at Stanford.

Off the edge, James Pearce Jr. returns at LEO after a productive sophomore campaign that has shot him up several pre-2025 NFL Draft boards and junior Joshua Josephs and sophomore Caleb Herring should feature into the rotation, too.

Anchoring the other end is junior Tyre West, senior Dominic Bailey and highly-touted freshman Jordan Ross.

"I think the guys are buying in to what we believe and what we preach. I truly believe in my heart that we are all blessed just to have the opportunity to be at the University of Tennessee," Fourth-year defensive line coach Rodney Garner said on March 23. "We had some guys in the past that Tennessee was blessed to have us, and that's not the case. These guys are believing in what we are doing and how we are doing things...They are starting to see that when we play together, and we play as brothers, then we have the opportunity to achieve something good.

"We have the opportunity to display playing at a high level, being able to have more guys get accolades and being able to do great things."

WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel recaps spring scrimmage

The coaching staff identified the need to get the defensive line where it is now when they first arrived in Knoxville nearly four years ago.

The offensive-minded Heupel knew the Vols' future success would depend on consistency up front on the defensive side and now Tennessee features what should be one of the more dominant defensive lines in the league next season.

Seven practices and two scrimmages into spring, that appears to be the case.

"If you want to be really good as a football team it starts with your defensive line," Heupel said. "Just how we got here, the circumstances that were here when we first got here, it's taken a little time to go work the group up. Certainly, just the athleticism across the entire group. I really like what Coach (Tim) Banks and Coach (Rodney) Garner and Coach (Mike) Ekeler have done with that group. We still have a lot of room to grow before we're where we need to be when we open up."

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