When folks talk about new Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel, the talk is mostly centered around the offense.

Heupel runs an up-tempo offense that traditionally scores a lot of points. His Missouri offense was No. 14 in the nation in 2017 in points per game (37.5). And Heupel's UCF offenses finished in the top eight nationally in each of his three seasons as the Knights' head coach.

There hasn't been a lot of talk about Tennessee's defense under Heupel — at least outside of Knoxville.

But with Tim Banks in charge of the defensive side of the ball, there's a good chance that UT could improve on its ranking as the No. 69 scoring defense in the nation a year ago.

The secondary, specifically, could be much improved.

Senior defensive back Alontae Taylor said the Vols' secondary is extremely confident as the start of the season approaches.

"Our confidence is super high," said Taylor this week. "We see it, we feel it. We’re a couple of days out (from starting the season) and I don’t think we can get any more confident."

“We can be as great as we put our minds to,” added junior safety Jaylen McCollough. “I feel like with this scheme and with the maturity, the bond that we’ve created over the past couple of months, we have a high ceiling. I’m excited to see what we have and where we go."

“This is the deepest we’ve ever been (since I’ve been here)," noted McCollough. "We have a lot of young guys who can play, who are fast, who know the defense, and who are just ready to go after it.”

An improved secondary for the Vols in 2021 would be quite an embarrassment to previous Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt, who was known as a defensive backs guru.

Pruitt was expected to bring a stingy defense to Rocky Top. The secondary was supposed to be the strength of the team.

Instead, the Vols were No. 106 in passing yards allowed last season and had the No. 69 scoring defense in the nation. Not exactly what you expect from a "secondary guru".

If Tennessee's passing defense improves in 2021 — under a head coach who is known as an "offense first" coach — it'll be a terrible look for Pruitt.

Pruitt's stock has taken a big hit over the last 12 months. At this point, I'd be shocked if he ever gets another shot as a head coach.

Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services/Caitie McMekin/Pool via News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services