COMMENTARY: Knowles' defense will revive Tennessee's playoff hopes

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – At long last, it is officially game week on Rocky Top.

On Saturday, the Volunteers will take the field for the first time in more than eight months.

Last season’s rollercoaster ride ended in a bitter pair of defeats. The regular season concluded with a 45-24 loss to the rival Vanderbilt Commodores in a dominant showing from Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia, who rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

The subsequent Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., was another demoralizing loss to Illinois, 30-28.

Despite averaging 466 yards (seventh nationally) and 39.8 points (sixth nationally) per game, the Volunteers dropped five games, their most losses since 2021, Josh Heupel’s first season as head coach.

If you are confused about how this could be possible, Tennessee’s 2025 defense was an utter disaster.

The Volunteers allowed an inexcusable 28.8 points per game, to go along with 397 yards per game. Both were the third-worst marks in the SEC.

In 2026, though, it is safe to assume that Tennessee fans will be put through significantly fewer defensive headaches.

Heupel addressed the defensive mishaps immediately following the conclusion of the 2025 season, dismissing former defensive coordinator Tim Banks, and replacing him with one of the nation’s top defensive minds.

Jim Knowles comes to the Volunteers with nearly 40 years of collegiate coaching experience.

Perhaps best known for his time at Duke and Oklahoma State, Knowles was also the defensive coordinator for the 2024 national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. 

That season, his defense finished as the nation’s most stout scoring unit, also allowing the fewest yards per game to opponents.

In 2025, Knowles took the same role at Penn State.

Navigating a disastrous season for the Nittany Lions, which featured the firing of head coach James Franklin just six games into the season, Knowles found a way to perform.

Despite the drama surrounding the team, Penn State finished with a top defense, allowing just 326.8 yards and 20.5 points per game, a stark contrast to the lackluster Tennessee defense.

Heading into the season, Knowles believes the team has made tremendous strides in getting players on the ground.

“I have seen [and] tracked analytical gains in our tackling from the spring,” Knowles said. “There’s a right way and a wrong way to miss tackles… [if] you’re on the right angle and you miss, you’ll have a teammate there to help.” 

If Knowles can get the Vols’ defense to play as one, there is little doubt that they can rival the 2024 defense as one of the best in school history.

Though the Volunteers had a handful of talent on the defensive side of the ball last season, having proper coaching almost always outweighs talent, particularly in football.

Take the Commodores, for example, who finished the 2020 season with an abysmal 0-9 record. The following season, the Commodores hired Clark Lea as the team’s head coach.

Just five seasons later, Lea led the Commodores to a 10-win season, the first in school history. He also won the 2025 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

While Rome was not built in a day, expecting immediate results from Knowles would be far from outlandish, considering his championship run with the Buckeyes was his first season in Columbus.

For now, at least, the Volunteers’ focus is on the Furman Paladins, who visit Knoxville on Saturday.

For the Volunteers, anything but utter domination of the Paladins would be relatively unacceptable.

While fans will get a preview of Knowles’ defense this weekend, the true test for Tennessee will come from SEC opponents. 

They begin SEC play at home three weeks from Saturday, when they host the Texas Longhorns on Sept. 26.

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