Defensive line coach Steve Stripling has done a good job with his unit since his first season in Knoxville in 2013. The line started off a bit slow, but as the season progressed, so did its performance. Despite losing end/linebacker Curt Maggitt for the season in the loss to Oklahoma and true freshman tackle Shy Tuttle (who was playing really well) in the win over Georgia, the line continued to improve each week and ended the season on a high note with a dominant performance over Northwestern.
Best game of the regular season: There were several games that stood out.