This is my article which is dropping in the morning. Posting here first:
As mentioned in the Preliminary Scouting Report for Tennessee, the Vols Head Coach is Jeremy Pruitt who is known as a defensive guy. This piece will focus on who the Vols are philosophically on defense and what they are trying to do schematically.
First of all Tennessee's base defense is the 3-4. Indiana has certainly seen many 3-4 looks this year (Michigan for example) but most college football teams run a base 4-3. The 3-4 is more popular in the NFL with 17 teams currently running the scheme (versus 15 teams who run the 4-3).
As most readers will know, the 3-4 defense uses 3 down lineman, 4 linebackers, and (usually) 4 defensive backs.
One of the main focuses of a Pruitt defense is to stop the run. Pruitt uses an inside out approach meaning everything starts with the interior Linemen, the Inside Linebackers and the Safeties and works its way out. It should be noted that much like Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen did in 2019, Jeremy Pruitt delegated defensive play-calling to his Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs Coach Derrick Ansley. From what HFB gathers Pruitt and Ansley are very much on the same page philosophically and Ansley is dutifully running Pruitt's defense.
Tennessee does not run the 3-4 exclusively. They do show many 4-3 looks too (with Nickle and Dime packages) as Pruitt will utilize various schemes in order to force opponents to spend time preparing for all of them. Some of their more complex / exotic looks will occur on 3rd down.
The 3-4 requires stout down linemen and works best with a prototypical nose tackle. The down linemen need to be good against both the run and the pass and their primary job is to take up space and to occupy 1 or 2 blocking offensive linemen. In this scheme the linebackers come in and 'clean-up' - making the majority of plays in terms of tackles.
Here are the starting defensive linemen from the Vols most recent game versus Vanderbilt:
Kurott Garland - DT - 6-3, 304
Darel Middleton - DE - 6'4, 311
Matthew Butler - DE - 6-4, 285
In the 3-4 scheme Outside Linebackers are first and foremost pass rushers. While they may occasionally have to get wide to cover the flat, pass coverage is not the primary focus. In most cases an Outside Linebacker is the fourth man to bring pressure on the quarterback - often from the right, or the quarterback's blind side. You may see the OLB at the line of scrimmage standing up like a Defensive End. In other words even though there are only 'three down' they are still likely bringing at least four.
In the 3-4 defense there are two inside linebackers who are fast and can run from sideline to sideline. Pruitt likes ILBs who can play all three downs and who are versatile enough to play all four LB positions.
Tennessee has an interesting wrinkle. Much like Indiana plays the 4-2-5 with the Husky position, which essentially functions as a Linebacker-Safety hybrid, the Vols have their own version of this which they call the Star position. (Alabama and Georgia are doing this as well.)
Henry To'o To'o - WLB - 6-2, 232
Shawn Shamburger - Star - 5-11, 187
Darrell Taylor - SAM - 6-4, 255
Daniel Bituli - MLB - 6-3, 252
A 3-4 scheme (versus a 4-3) does not have that big of an impact on the secondary. There are still the cover corners, the safeties, and the 5 and 6 DB looks in passing situations - in which case Tennessee will likely have 4 down linemen.
A 3-4 defense can be overwhelmed by physical offensive linemen and aggressive blocking schemes since there are only 3 lineman and not 4. If the quick and athletic inside linebackers aren't strong enough to shed blocks quickly they too can be exploited in the run game.
With at least two Linebackers in pass coverage this can be exploited as well by creating match-ups (through formation, shifts, motion, etc.) with speedy receivers that a Linebacker will have trouble covering.
However the Zone blitz is a way to neutralize this potential offensive advantage. Basically with the Zone Blitz you send someone who you'd expect to be in pass coverage on a blitz and you drop an expected pass rusher back into zone coverage - for example drop a DE into one of four underneath zones. I found an example of Tennessee doing this in the 2018 Spring game so I am assuming this is something they will still do. This tactic can confuse the quarterback and also makes it more difficult for a receiver to run free in space.
Next up will be an examination of the Vols on Offense.
http://iufb.wordpress.com
As mentioned in the Preliminary Scouting Report for Tennessee, the Vols Head Coach is Jeremy Pruitt who is known as a defensive guy. This piece will focus on who the Vols are philosophically on defense and what they are trying to do schematically.
First of all Tennessee's base defense is the 3-4. Indiana has certainly seen many 3-4 looks this year (Michigan for example) but most college football teams run a base 4-3. The 3-4 is more popular in the NFL with 17 teams currently running the scheme (versus 15 teams who run the 4-3).
As most readers will know, the 3-4 defense uses 3 down lineman, 4 linebackers, and (usually) 4 defensive backs.
One of the main focuses of a Pruitt defense is to stop the run. Pruitt uses an inside out approach meaning everything starts with the interior Linemen, the Inside Linebackers and the Safeties and works its way out. It should be noted that much like Indiana Head Coach Tom Allen did in 2019, Jeremy Pruitt delegated defensive play-calling to his Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs Coach Derrick Ansley. From what HFB gathers Pruitt and Ansley are very much on the same page philosophically and Ansley is dutifully running Pruitt's defense.
Tennessee does not run the 3-4 exclusively. They do show many 4-3 looks too (with Nickle and Dime packages) as Pruitt will utilize various schemes in order to force opponents to spend time preparing for all of them. Some of their more complex / exotic looks will occur on 3rd down.
The 3-4 requires stout down linemen and works best with a prototypical nose tackle. The down linemen need to be good against both the run and the pass and their primary job is to take up space and to occupy 1 or 2 blocking offensive linemen. In this scheme the linebackers come in and 'clean-up' - making the majority of plays in terms of tackles.
Here are the starting defensive linemen from the Vols most recent game versus Vanderbilt:
Kurott Garland - DT - 6-3, 304
Darel Middleton - DE - 6'4, 311
Matthew Butler - DE - 6-4, 285
In the 3-4 scheme Outside Linebackers are first and foremost pass rushers. While they may occasionally have to get wide to cover the flat, pass coverage is not the primary focus. In most cases an Outside Linebacker is the fourth man to bring pressure on the quarterback - often from the right, or the quarterback's blind side. You may see the OLB at the line of scrimmage standing up like a Defensive End. In other words even though there are only 'three down' they are still likely bringing at least four.
In the 3-4 defense there are two inside linebackers who are fast and can run from sideline to sideline. Pruitt likes ILBs who can play all three downs and who are versatile enough to play all four LB positions.
Tennessee has an interesting wrinkle. Much like Indiana plays the 4-2-5 with the Husky position, which essentially functions as a Linebacker-Safety hybrid, the Vols have their own version of this which they call the Star position. (Alabama and Georgia are doing this as well.)
Henry To'o To'o - WLB - 6-2, 232
Shawn Shamburger - Star - 5-11, 187
Darrell Taylor - SAM - 6-4, 255
Daniel Bituli - MLB - 6-3, 252
A 3-4 scheme (versus a 4-3) does not have that big of an impact on the secondary. There are still the cover corners, the safeties, and the 5 and 6 DB looks in passing situations - in which case Tennessee will likely have 4 down linemen.
A 3-4 defense can be overwhelmed by physical offensive linemen and aggressive blocking schemes since there are only 3 lineman and not 4. If the quick and athletic inside linebackers aren't strong enough to shed blocks quickly they too can be exploited in the run game.
With at least two Linebackers in pass coverage this can be exploited as well by creating match-ups (through formation, shifts, motion, etc.) with speedy receivers that a Linebacker will have trouble covering.
However the Zone blitz is a way to neutralize this potential offensive advantage. Basically with the Zone Blitz you send someone who you'd expect to be in pass coverage on a blitz and you drop an expected pass rusher back into zone coverage - for example drop a DE into one of four underneath zones. I found an example of Tennessee doing this in the 2018 Spring game so I am assuming this is something they will still do. This tactic can confuse the quarterback and also makes it more difficult for a receiver to run free in space.
Next up will be an examination of the Vols on Offense.
http://iufb.wordpress.com
