Tennessee Position Group Deep Dive - DL

[tsweezy]

One of the most important positions on defense. Had some star DTs come through and have the future well-established (albeit lacking a bit of depth)

 

2021:

DE Mike Anderson - So ⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - C overall

DE Hector Levrone- Sr ⭐⭐⭐, Run Stopper - B overall

DE Mike Manship - Sr ⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - B overall

DT Jason Marte - So ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pass Rusher - B overall

DT Nikola Simmons - Sr ⭐⭐⭐, Pass Rusher - B overall
 

This was an… interesting group to select to start. We actually ran a 3-man DE rotation which is surprising because Mike Anderson… wasn't good (by attributes) but he got the most snaps of anyone on the DL. It's paid off though as he grew into a very good end. 

So 3 Bs and a C on DL, and as you may expect, none of them made particularly stood out. Frankly I was tearing my hair out trying to get sacks as we got a total of 6 on the year, 1 turnover, and 45 TFLs. 

They wound up being… fine, but not notable in any way

 

2022:

DE Ian Merritt - Sr ⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - B overall

DE Max Bradberry- Sr ⭐⭐⭐, Run Stopper - B+ overall

DT Jason Marte - Jr ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pass Rusher - B+ overall

DT Steve Markkanen - (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐, Nose Tackle - B overall
 

The rotation tightened significantly this year with the true starters playing the whole year (all 4 as upperclassmen). It was still not an overwhelming talent lineup, but with 2 B+ and 2 Bs it wasn't particularly weak. The archetypes were all over the place but that didn't matter so much at that point

Once again, all 4 were pretty equivalent statistically and the definition of a group effort. The numbers looked much better for sure, with 22 sacks this year and 52 TFLs and 3 turnovers forced (plus a cheeky safety!)

This was the first year Tennessee became a national powerhouse and while the offense soaked up attention, the defense was actually just as much of a factor and ranked about the same as a unit. The DL was filled with grinders who generally kept the opponent from making plays. Pretty solid group this year

 

2023:

DE Mike Anderson - (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - B overall

DE Matthew Cano- (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐, Speed Rusher - B+ overall

DT Jason Marte - Sr ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pass Rusher - A overall

DT Steve Markkanen - (Sr) ⭐⭐⭐, Nose Tackle - A overall
 

On paper this was pretty much the apex of what you can expect from a DL. We had the old heads all over with the 2 A overalls stuffing the middle and the (Jr) ends ready to clamp. Intriguingly we also played a fair bit of mix and match throughout the year. Assuming they would attack the ends, against the superstar rushing attacks of FSU (McGee), Kentucky (Dupree) and Marshall, we occasionally moved Markkanen to DE and put Anderson inside. This gave us a run stopper on the edge and added more speed to rush up the middle.

It mostly worked as we held all the star backs under 100 yards and nobody cracked 5 ypc against us. This was actually a great performance all around in complementary football…. Except at getting to the QB.

Auburn and TCU carved us up and the inability to quickly sack those QBs was a big reason why. We regressed heavily from 24 sacks last season to only 15 this year (2 coming from (Fr) Dimmadome in garbage time). TFLs were also down to 45. I think 2022 was just underrated how good they were, and the garbage time players soaked up some stats this season

Overall, Marte got drafted, Markkanen is lingering as an UDFA trying to catch on, and the DEs got to come back for one last ride. I think they were an ok unit but didn't quite live up to preseason expectations

 

2024:

DE options:

1a LDE Mike Anderson - (Sr) ⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - A overall. B speed, B IQ, A- agility, B- strength, C+ pass rush, B run defense

1b LDE Roger London - (Fr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Speed Rusher - B+ overall. B speed, B IQ, B agility, B strength, B pass rush, C run defense

1 RDE Matthew Cano- (Sr) ⭐⭐⭐, Speed Rusher - A overall. A+ speed, A- IQ, A agility, A strength, A pass rush, B run defense

2 RDE Doug Dimmadome Jr. - (So) ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Speed Rusher - B+ overall. B- speed, A- IQ, C+ agility, B strength, B pass rush, B run defense

DT:

DT Ernesto Moran - (Fr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pass Rusher - B+ overall. A speed, B IQ, B agility, D strength, B pass rush, C run defense

DT Johnathan Sowell - (So) ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Nose Tackle - B+ overall. C- speed, B IQ, C- agility, A strength, C pass rush, B run defense
 

There are going to be some interesting rotations here. Cano and Anderson are so much older that they're the "best" options but I really don’t want to leave the underclassmen duo of London and Dimmadome Jr. on the bench more than I have to. I'm considering the possibility of starting Cano and Anderson in "key" games and letting London and Dimmadome be the "normal" starters to get them starting snap counts

DT is actually a lot softer than I want, particularly for a 4-3 team. This is a pretty key recruiting position this season imo

DE is quite deep, but DT is not. We have 2 4-star DEs riding the bench but no DTs in the pipeline. I don't like having to play a NT in this scheme but there's really no choice. 

I think we'll perform… pretty well this year. Probably about the same as last season if I had to guess, but I think this will be the worst the DL looks for some time (unless I whiff DT crooting this season)

 

2025:

DE Roger London - (So) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Speed Rusher - A overall

DE Doug Dimmadome Jr.- (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - A- overall

DT Ernesto Moran - (So) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pass Rusher - A- overall

DT Johnathan Sowell - (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Nose Tackle - A- overall
 

Next year will be the best room yet as all 4 starters should clear the A overall hurdle (or at least A-). The only notable backup though will be B overall Steve Carnahan so it'll still be a bit thin. Still, how can you complain about a room like this that should be able to mix it up against running or passing attacks equally?

 

2026:

DE Roger London - (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Speed Rusher - A overall

DE Doug Dimmadome Jr.- (Sr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Balanced - A overall

DT Ernesto Moran - (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pass Rusher - A overall

DT Johnathan Sowell - (Sr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Nose Tackle - A overall
 

Well, this is the apex of the room. A full quartet of A overall players, all 4th/5th years including 2 5-stars. An absolutely terrifying unit to go against and this should be the focal point that can stop just about any offense. I'm very, very excited to get to this point and don't really see what could be better. Carnahan should be a senior B+/A- backup at DE, and we should have a B+ DT backup and another DE in Armando Medina by now. 

 

2027:

DE Roger London - (Sr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Speed Rusher - A overall

DE Armando Medina- (Jr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Speed Rusher - B+ overall

DT Ernesto Moran - (Sr) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, Pass Rusher - A overall

DT Johnathan Key - (Sr) ⭐⭐⭐, Pass Rusher - A- overall
 

This year is a slight step back but is full on "rush the passer" focused. Maybe a little run soft but they will be OLD and still very good. I expect teams to give them a lot of respect and try to get the ball out ASAP