Jim Knowles details how quickly he can install defensive system
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Tennessee will open spring football practices March 16 in preparation for its 2026 season under first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
He will coach in the SEC for the first time since 2003, serving as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Ole Miss under then-head coach David Cutcliffe.
Ahead of spring practices, Knowles met with media and discussed how quickly he can install his defensive system.
“We can go faster than other situations that I’ve been in because of the fact that we have a lot of coaches who have worked with me before,” Knowles said. “That’s a huge advantage. Definitely faster than other places, and also we have a few players, which is really kind of crazy, in this day and age that you have a few players that have been in this system really at all levels of the defense.
“You know, Xavier (Gilliam), Amare (Campbell), Dejuan (Lane), Chaz (Coleman), all levels. They have been around, so they can help. I would say there’s opportunity, and we do try to throw a lot at them early. It’s a whole-part-whole philosophy. You kind of start out throwing a lot at them, see what they can take in. Shrink it down once you figure out their strengths and weaknesses and how they learn. It’s really important how they learn, and then hopefully build it back up to whole on the other end. How you get to the other end is really based on the players and how they pick it up, so kind of put in a lot, shrink it down to see what they know, then take it step-by-step to build it back up.”
Knowles went to Tennessee after serving as Penn State’s defensive coordinator in 2025 and at Ohio State from 2022-24.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tennessee DC Jim Knowles details how quickly he can install system
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