Vols Prepare For Oklahoma
photo by UT Athletics
Four days out from their first SEC road trip of the 2024 campaign, the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers took the Anderson Training Center indoor turf on a rainy Tuesday morning in Knoxville to continue on-field prep for Saturday's ranked matchup at No. 15 Oklahoma. The Vols are gearing up for a nationally televised showdown in primetime against the Sooners, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC as both squads open conference play.
Running backs coach De'Rail Sims anticipates a physical contest for the Big Orange in Norman. Through the first three weeks of the season, UT leads the SEC in scoring (63.7 points per game) and rushing offense (336.3 yards per game) and will face a Sooners defense that leads the FBS with 10 takeaways and ranks top-20 nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss.
"I think one thing that jumps out is the physicality they play with at all three levels," Sims said during Tuesday's post-practice press conference. "From the defensive line to the linebackers to the secondary, I think that portion of it stands out to you. They play aggressively. You see the personality of the head coach come out in terms of their defense. They want to be physical. They want to be aggressive. Schematically, they are very sound. They're going to fit the run very well. They do a really good job of making sure that they are covering things in the backend as well. Fundamentally and holistically, they're a really good defense."
Tennessee's defense has been stellar through the first three weeks of the season and carries a streak of 16 consecutive quarters without allowing an offensive touchdown into Saturday's game at Oklahoma. Linebackers coach William Inge noted the importance of containing Sooner quarterback Jackson Arnold and how that will be key to the continued success of the unit.
"That's something that you really have to keep your eyes on when it comes to (Arnold) being able to take off and run, but also them having some specific quarterback run games that they design," Inge said. "They do a great job, and he's obviously very efficient at what he does. He knows kind of when to take off when it's there for him. He's really smart at being able to get what he can get and then he gets down, so we have to be very disciplined when it comes to us applying our job, doing our task."