KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – During Tennessee’s situational scrimmage last Saturday, first-year defensive coordinator Bob Shoop brought a blitz on first down.
And second down. And third down. And fourth down.
UT’s offense was confounded. If it wasn’t giving up a sack, it was giving up a pressure. Each play was blown up. That might have frustrated some offensive coordinators. Not Tennessee’s Mike DeBord. He saw value in evaluating how his offense would do against such pressure.
“It’s been great,” DeBord said, “it really has. When you just play against a stagnant front, you can get false hope because maybe you’re doing things where the front is not moving.