No idea about the secondary.

[Volnuck]

the number of people on this board who bish about the DBs not turning around and looking for the ball when that front 7 is not generating pressure is insane
in-sane

I agree our rush has left a lot to be desired the past few years, but you have to be able to cover a “slant“ or a “streak route” (by keeping him in front of you) With or without a rush of any kind. They got beat out of the gate before the linemen had barely moved.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

Well, some of the 3rd and longs that we allowed to be converted last year were NOT on our DBs, as some of it was passes to TEs or RBs that might have been linebacker responsibilities; and some of it was QB scrambles where we lost outside containment.

Meanwhile, maybe it will help our DBs that they are practicing against our pretty good WRs, both our tall, strong dudes, and our shifty ones like Squirrel and Matthews.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Whats expected? Better, worse, too young? I just hate the secondary being the weakness once again and don't understand the problem in year 4 except tho obvious.

The OBVIOUS is not the same for everyone. The number of snaps that did not return through portal exits is TELLING. Game experience early on, by our younger guys and portal newbies will be interesting to follow. If we upgraded athleticism AND instinctive gamer ability, game plans and execution will solve the long debated mystery surrounding WM. The production of the first two levels will be a factor as well. Unlikely we attain upper level SEC play, but mid level is in play with the cobbled together room and coaching will be a factor. Then we can go shopping for real game changers. It is a process.

 

[jasonvol18]

Why do you think it will be a weakness when you admit you don't know what's expected?

Because it's been a weakness for 7+ yrs and it's expected until it changes. Pretty simple!

 

[Remy]

The fact that our front 7 is going to be pretty, dang good will help a bunch.

THIS!!! We have a recent history of allowing opposition QBs to take 10:to 12 seconds without a lot of pressure to survey the field which often unfairly stressed our DB performances. Our pass rush has significantly improved year over year to the point it should be a team strength this coming season. I suspect we’ll see a marked improvement in our pass defense this season and most everybody will point at the improved athletes in our secondary. That will be part of the improvement but the pass rush will really be behind an overall better pass defense imo.

 

[DenVol]

We have played approximately zero games and people are already complaining bc they have to find a reason to be negative. How in the hell do any of yall know that our D backs are going to suck again? Can we at least wait and see how they pan out before we are calling for people to lose their jobs? Good lord, people, quit living in negativity so much.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

the number of people on this board who bish about the DBs not turning around and looking for the ball when that front 7 is not generating pressure is insane
in-sane

lol. Turning your head and looking for the ball is a basic fundamental of playing DB. Even when we did generated pressure, the DBs played below average. It’s a reflection of bad coaching.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

We have played approximately zero games and people are already complaining bc they have to find a reason to be negative. How in the hell do any of yall know that our D backs are going to suck again? Can we at least wait and see how they pan out before we are calling for people to lose their jobs? Good lord, people, quit living in negativity so much.

Because Willie Martinez.

 

[KeyVol14]

Whats expected? Better, worse, too young? I just hate the secondary being the weakness once again and don't understand the problem in year 4 except tho obvious.

Our front 7 is going to help the secondary immensely. I expect them to be pretty stout. Secondary will take time due to youth but much better athletes then we have had the last 5 years or so.

 

[barney]

I think the start of the year will likely be pretty rough and we'll see drastic improvement as the season progresses. Of course, there is not a lot of depth back there so if someone goes down there could be a big dropoff. I wouldn't mind them picking up som depth pieces in the portal this summer.

 

[PACKERVOL]

It also concerns me about the 2025 DB recruits. The 3 we have committed are all 3*'s. We just went through the huge turnover of DB's because the group we had to let go were all 3*'s. I just find it strange that this early in recruiting we've used up 3 DB slots with players who are graded in the same range of those we just let go.

 

[chambers1517]

Why do you think it will be a weakness when you admit you don't know what's expected?

I'm just asking. I know we're young back there and I just hope it's not a weakness once again.

 

[TAF]

It also concerns me about the 2025 DB recruits. The 3 we have committed are all 3*'s. We just went through the huge turnover of DB's because the group we had to let go were all 3*'s. I just find it strange that this early in recruiting we've used up 3 DB slots with players who are graded in the same range of those we just let go.

still time to recruit over and offer "blue shirts"

 

[bleedorange1983]

The secondary doesnt need to be great with our dline this year.. if the can be good then good is enough

 

[BoroVol93]

I think the fundamental problem our secondary faces is that Heup's offense is the big draw for talent. In contrast, playing on D in general is a tough role as they play a huge amount of minutes compared to any other competitive team... if you like running marathons, come play cornerback for the Vols. Pretty sure that's a tough sell to recruits.

Not sure you understand how dbs think… they like to play a lot and have chances for plenty of ints as opposing teams will struggle to run on us and likely have to pass to keep up with scoring… it’s very attractive for dbs… sorry if I misread sarcasm.