All About Kahlil Mckenzie

Yep, he's the son of an NFL GM and he's massive. Even if he wasn't very good, he's going to be talked about a lot.

Throw in that he's a frickin monster, well, he'll be hyped.

 

5-man rotation at DT with all five players exhibiting genuine quality? What is this? 2001?

 

If Dobbs can roll out road wins like Casey Clausen, look out.

 

And they go 6 deep at DE in Barnett, Maggitt, Vereen, Lewis (who is good in limited snaps), Mixon and Phillips.

 

And the secondary is solid. Only place that isn't proven is linebacker.

 

Kirkland Jr is going to end up starting at MLB. When Tennessee is in a 4-3, which isn't much at all, Maggitt and JRM will be the OLBs. That's not too shabby.

Throw in Weatherd, who can really rush the passer, and there's a lot of speed and athleticism all over the defense.

 

They seem to want Jashon at center with Jones and Boulware at guard for the future.

 

How do you think we'll stack up in the SEC? Top 5 defense? Better?

 

Statistically, they weren't too bad last year. A top 5 defense isn't out of the question. Alabama and Florida are going to have nasty, NFL quality defenses. Tennessee doesn't have the depth everywhere to be one of those yet, I don't think. If UGA gets their shit together, they should have the best defense in the SEC, talent wise.

 

Don't forget Weatherd. He is a speedy rusher on the edge.

 

The S&P+ rankings had us 9th in the SEC last year, behind Alabama (3 overall), Ole Miss (7), LSU (12), Mississippi State (16), Georgia (17), Arkansas (18), Florida (21), and Missouri (23). We were #24. If we moved up ten spots, that should be good enough for 3rd or 4th in the SEC based on previous years.

Off the top of my head, I'd figure we can definitely pass Mizzou, Arkansas, and Mississippi State. That would put us 6th.

 

I think we're looking at a top 15 unit.