One likely source of Tennessee Vols' road woes was revealed this week
Dating back to November 2022, the Tennessee Vols are 2-5 in their last seven true road games. That record has created a narrative that Tennessee has some "road woes" that need to be addressed (the Vols haven't lost at home since November 2021). One source of those road woes — specifically when it comes to […]
Dating back to November 2022, the Tennessee Vols are 2-5 in their last seven true road games.
That record has created a narrative that Tennessee has some "road woes" that need to be addressed (the Vols haven't lost at home since November 2021).
One source of those road woes — specifically when it comes to the defensive side of the ball — might have been revealed this week via some comments from coaches and players.
Tennessee's defense, for whatever reason, seems to have an issue creating its own energy on the road.
When the defense is on the road, the crowds are quiet for the opposing team's offense. When the Vols are at Neyland, the crowd is incredibly loud and rowdy when the defense is on the field — in an effort to make communication hard on the opposing team's offense. UT's defense thrives off that energy from the crowd.
"It's one of those things where I think the chaos that's at Neyland, I think it stresses the offense some, too. The pre-snap communication is still at a high level at home, and we have to go a little bit above and beyond to get that communication and I think that might make us better," explained Vols linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary this week. "When it's on the road, and their crowd does a good job of staying a little more quiet when the offense is out there, we have to still do a great job. It's one of those things where — and maybe because of the intensity of the situation at home — we do a better job, but we still need to a better job on the road."
Tennessee redshirt junior defensive lineman Bryson Eason echoed Jean-Mary's sentiments while speaking with reporters earlier this week.
"When we're here at home in Neyland, there's a lot of noise and a lot of things going on," said Eason. "For some guys in the room and some guys on the defensive line, we love the atmosphere and we love to be out there in the middle of the chaos. We just have to dial in and lock into the signals, calls and little things like that. The majority of the guys, we love it, just hearing the noise and the crowd being loud. It's a great feeling. I think most of the guys would prefer to hear that and have all of that going on at home than it be kind of dull when we are on the road."
One of Tennessee's best defensive performances on the road this season came in the fourth quarter of the Vols' win against Kentucky. It's probably no coincidence that Tennessee's defense was feeding off the energy from Kentucky's crowd entering that fourth quarter.
Entering the 2024 season, Tennessee's defense is going to have to find a way to create its own "juice" in road games. That's obviously easier said than done. But it's something they need to figure out. Whether that means adopting an "us against the world" mentality or finding a way to make each game very personal, Tennessee's defense can't let a lack of energy be the reason for less-than-stellar road performances moving forward.
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