ESPN named each top 25 college football program’s biggest strength ahead of the 2024 season and their choice for Tennessee Vols bodes extremely well for UT’s chance of competing for a spot in the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
According to ESPN’s Chris Low, the Vols’ biggest strength entering the 2024 season is the defensive line.
From ESPN: Tennessee kept veteran defensive line coach Rodney Garner from returning to his alma mater (Auburn) this offseason, which was a big win. He has a strong record of producing elite defensive linemen, and the returning talent across the defensive front should be a tone-setter for the Vols in 2024. James Pearce Jr. is back for his junior season after tying for the SEC lead with 10 sacks last season. Pearce is poised to be one of the top edge rushers taken in the 2025 NFL draft. Starting defensive tackles Omari Thomas and Omarr Norman-Lott are also back.
Winning in the SEC starts in the trenches. And Tennessee’s defensive line, which was excellent in 2023, is poised to take another step forward in 2024. That should help the Vols continue to win the battle in the trenches against quality opponents.
If the defensive line lives up to the hype (and it should — especially with superstar edge rusher James Pearce in the picture), and Tennessee’s offense looks like it did in 2022, then the Vols are going to be awfully tough to handle this fall.
There’s already been some incredibly exciting moments on Rocky Top during the Josh Heupel era, but it feels like the best is yet to come.
