Tennessee football’s secondary has been much maligned over the last three seasons under defensive coordinator Tim Banks and secondary coach Willie Martinez.
The group showed improvements last season but after an offseason of roster turnover, it’s almost entirely new personnel after three seasons of largely the same players holding down the back end of Tennessee’s defense.
That inexperience makes the secondary a question mark but there’s also an abundance of young talent in that room that’s a cause for optimism. Meeting with the media on Monday, Martinez provided even more reason for optimism.
“I love the room. I really do. I love the group,” Martinez said. “I think it’s one of the best groups I’ve ever been around in my career. And they care about each other. They hold each other accountable. It’s not a bunch of yelling and screaming, man. It’s really structured. It’s really cool.”
Martinez is a college football coach veteran. He’s spent stints as a secondary coach at Auburn, Georgia, Oklahoma and is in his second stint at Tennessee. A big reason Martinez loves his room is the leadership and despite breaking in five new starters, the Vols do have a number of veterans at safety.
Redshirt junior Andre Turrentine is all but locked in as a starter as senior Will Brooks and redshirt junior MTSU transfer Jakobe Thomas compete for the spot beside him. Turrentine and Brooks are two players that have plenty of knowledge about Tennessee’s defensive system while Thomas has plenty of college football experience.
The leadership at the safety spot isn’t surprising because of that fact, but the leadership at cornerback is somewhat surprising because of how young that group is. Tennessee’s two-deep at cornerback includes two true sophomores, a redshirt freshman and a veteran transfer.
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Tennessee’s corners being mature is an encouraging sign because there’s an abundance of talent at that spot. Sophomore Rickey Gibson III and redshirt freshman Jordan Matthews were highly touted recruits. Jermod McCoy started as a true freshman last season at Oregon State and has been impressive during his first offseason in Knoxville.
“High character. He’s a great player,” Martinez said of McCoy. “He’s a very competitive person both on and off the field. And he’s a playmaker. He’s one of those guys that just got one of the turnovers today, and when he doesn’t get something or it doesn’t happen for him— he’s harder on himself and the teammates see that. Players see that. And so he’s not much of a talker. He’s kind of more ‘I’m gonna do, what I’m saying, I’m gonna do’ and leads by a great example. He’s setting the example every day.”
McCoy’s interception on Monday came on a Nico Iamaleava pass intended for Chris Brazzell. Tennessee’s defensive backs making plays has become a reoccurring theme this fall camp. Heupel mentioned it following the Vols’ first fall scrimmage on Friday and Martinez discussed it again on Monday.
“We got four turnovers today,” Martinez said. “And the playmaking on the ball, actually catching it. We had a couple of drops a couple practices ago, but they’re having fun. You could see whether it’s a young guy or it’s an older guy, the encouragement, not letting guys get down when things go wrong. I guess the next play mentality of their personality and it’s kind of cool to see.
“It was a really good day. Get some turnovers today and that always helps on defense. You’re changing the momentum of the game.”
While Tennessee’s defensive backfield is a question mark entering the 2024 season with a multitude of new contributors. There’s also reasons for optimism. Especially at cornerback where young talent is stepping up.
