Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. projects as a top five pick in next spring’s NFL Draft and is a consensus preseason All-American. But the Vols are deep at LEO with a number of players ready to contribute on Tim Banks’ defense.
In fact, Tennessee’s inaugural depth chart listed four co-starter at LEO with Pearce alongside Josh Josephs, Caleb Herring and Jordan Ross. Who emerges as the top edge rusher across from Pearce on third down packages is one of the most intriguing questions facing the Vols’ defense entering the season.
But for defensive coordinator Tim Banks, it’s clear where things start for Tennessee’s LEO position after Pearce.
“It starts with Josh Josephs, obviously,” Banks said. “He’s played a ton of football around here. We’re really excited about what he brings to the table.”
Josephs is a junior whose played since his freshman year. But he had a slightly underwhelming sophomore campaign where he totaled 20 tackles and three sacks.
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There’s been as much buzz about Josephs as any other player on Tennessee’s roster this offseason and if he can give the Vols a second high level pass rusher across from Pearce it would go a long way for their defense.
But there are capable bodies behind Josephs. Herring completely changed his body from his freshman to his sophomore season. Ross is a five-star freshman whose had a strong fall camp despite no enrolling at Tennessee until the summer.
“I think that whole room, all those LEOs really got a chance to be special for us,” Banks said. “We’ve always tried to rotate those guys a ton. Even last year James rotated a ton, that’s when we had a chance to showcase his skillset. He got better every single game, every single week. We expect the same type of productivity from the backup guys that are rotating in the season as well. But definitely Josh Josephs has had a really good camp for us.”
Josephs and Tennessee open up its 2024 season on Saturday afternoon when they face Chattanooga at Neyland Stadium. Kickoff is at 12:45 p.m. ET and the SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
