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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s defense faces a change of pace in Bristol on Saturday.
Appalachian State’s game plan was to slow it down and milk every second of the play clock before snapping it. The Mountaineers only ran 66 plays and possessed the ball for 33:29.
Fast forward to Week 2, and Tennessee will face Virginia Tech, which ran 89 plays against Liberty last week. In doing so, the Hokies had control of the ball for 33:42.
So, how will the Volunteer defense prepare for the up-tempo attack from first-year head coach Justin Fuente’s offense?
“I feel like our conditioning right now is at a premium (level),” Vols redshirt senior defensive lineman LaTroy Lewis said. “I’m probably in the best shape of my life right now. The defensive line, every day after practice, we go and we do a mock eight-play drive after an 18-period practice just to make sure that we are in tip-top shape. That’s going to be key for us, to be able to have guys roll in and stay fresh on Saturday.”
Butch Jones knows what he will be facing in Fuente’s offense, and it’s a mix of everything at a high pace.
“Obviously an up-tempo pace on the Virginia Tech offense and a very, very talented wide receiver crew. One of the best wide receiver corps we will face all year. I thought (Jerod) Evans played very, very well at quarterback. Very, very physical offensive line, good running backs.
“So they’re very, very well coached and it’s going to be a great challenge.”
Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop has his defense prepared for the up-tempo attack that they are about to face, even referring to how fast they will be in position from play-to-play.
“We are going to be the first no-huddle tempo defense in the world this week,” Shoop said. “When they get to the line of scrimmage, we’re going to beat them to the line of scrimmage.
“First up mentality, it’s getting your eyes to the sideline, it’s post-snap effort. Then it’s identifying the call and communicating and it’s getting your cleats in the ground and diagnosing the play and being ready to go. We don’t really have a choice so we better be ready to go.”
Tennessee will need to be prepared for the Hokies uptempo offense in order to escape the Battle at Bristol.
Dan Harralson covers Tennessee football for SaturdayDownSouth.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @danharralson.
