The Tennessee Vols’ defense will have a new look this fall under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, who is entering his first season on Rocky Top.

Knowles was hired by Josh Heupel earlier this offseason to replace Tim Banks, who served as the Volunteers’ defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2025.

We don’t know exactly what Knowles’ defense will look like at Tennessee as he tends to build his scheme around the skillset of the roster he has.

What we do know, though, is that EDGE Chaz Coleman, the Vols’ biggest transfer addition of the offseason, won’t be suiting up for Tennessee in 2026 after being medically disqualified last month.

Without Coleman on the roster, Tennessee doesn’t have a “premier” pass rusher (former five-star EDGE Jordan Ross transferred from Tennessee to LSU in January).

As a result, Knowles will need to get creative during fall camp as he looks for ways to build a dominant pass rush without Coleman.

Linebacker Arion Carter could be used to rush the passer

One of Tennessee’s biggest strengths entering the 2026 season is the program’s depth at linebacker.

That group, which is coached by William Inge, is headlined by senior Arion Carter, Penn State transfer Amare Campbell, and redshirt sophomore Edwin Spillman.

Sophomore Jaedon Harmon, sophomore Jadon Perlotte, senior Jeremiah Telander, and true freshmen TJ White and Brayden Crouse round out a talented group.

Carter has served as the designated “green dot” (in-helmet communication) for the Vols on defense in recent seasons, but Campbell is expected to take over that role in 2026 due to his previous experience in Knowles’ system.

Carter is one of the most athletic defenders on the Volunteers’ roster — he’s going to be on the field more often than not and will be an important player for Tennessee this fall.

One way Knowles can use Carter is as a hybrid pass rusher.

“I think Tennessee and how they play the defense with no Chaz Coleman and the lack of real depth at Leo, it probably makes some sense to give some different looks,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price this week on WNML’s Josh and Swain. “I think more 4-3 looks could be in the works. I think you could use guys like Arion Carter even off the edge to rush the passer — Arion’s very athletic.”

I don’t think Tennessee is going to try to turn Carter into a player who exclusively rushes the passer or anything like that — his future in the NFL is as an interior linebacker — but they could certainly use him off the edge to beat less athletic offensive tackles.

Knowles could also disguise some looks by using Carter’s versatility (walking him up to the line and then dropping him into coverage) to confuse opposing offensive coordinators.

Not having Coleman’s skillset is an obvious loss for Tennessee’s defense in 2026, but Knowles has some options to make up for the loss. And Carter is undoubtedly near the top of the list of options.