Josh Pate Names SEC Contender Going in the Wrong Direction

The Tennessee Volunteers looked on the brink of breaking through and becoming a consistent contender in the SEC and nationally.

In a three-year span under head coach Josh Heupel, the Volunteers went 30-9 and made their first College Football Playoff appearance in 2024. In 2025, the team was expected to keep playing up to those expectations, but they took a step back and went 8-5.

A big reason for the disappointing season was the major drop in defensive production. In 2024, the Volunteers ranked No. 6 in total defense.

They had one of the best defensive lines, making it extremely difficult for offenses to have any success. In 2025, Tennessee took a major step back, finishing No. 92 in total defense. This led Heupel to decide to fire defensive coordinator Tim Banks.

Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles during the Vols' first spring football practice. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Heupel made a major splash hire by landing Jim Knowles. He is considered one of the best defensive minds in college football. Knowles led Ohio State to a national championship in 2024, but elected to leave for Penn State in 2025. That season, the Nittany Lions fired head coach James Franklin. After the year, Knowles took the Tennessee job.

While on paper, this looks like a great hire. Josh Pate still has some concerns about the defense. On "Josh Pate's College Football Show," the college football analyst said he thinks Tennessee will be worse again this year because of its defense.

"They're going to have to be a team that noticeably improves throughout the year," Pate said. "The best teams do that. But especially Tennessee defensively this year is going to have to do that. It's a lot to ask. I'm going to lean slightly worse than last year and hope to be surprised."

While Knowles is known as a great coordinator, his scheme is one of the most difficult to run. That's why his defenses typically have their worst performance in his first year. In 2022, his first year at Ohio State, the Buckeyes ranked No. 14 in total defense. In 2023, the Buckeyes jumped to No. 3 and in 2024, they were No. 1.

This will be one of his most difficult challenges due to how poor the defense was last season. A big jump would be to be in the top 60. But even that might not be good enough to have a better year than last year.

The reason is that, while Heupel is a great offensive mind and typically puts out great offenses, he's going to be starting a first-year starter at quarterback this season. That in itself will make things difficult, so they will need a defense to help pick up the slack, and they might not be up to the task just yet.

If they are, they will prove Pate wrong, but if they aren't it could be a long season in Knoxville.

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