Know Your Foe: No. 4 Tennessee Comes In Red Hot Against Hogs

Q&A with Ryan Schumpert, Tennessee beat writer with Rocky Top Insider, previews Arkansas' Week 6 game with Volunteers

Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) celebrates after a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There's no way around it. No. 4 Tennessee is the toughest test the Razorbacks and Sam Pittman have faced to date. The Volunteers have not trailed through four games and have yet to play a one-score game.

Arkansas looks to avoid falling back to .500 despite being massive underdogs at home. Rocky Top Insider's Ryan Schumpert explains what makes the Volunteers so difficult.

Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length

Daniel Shi, Hogs on SI: What can Arkansas expect from Tennessee up front on defense given Arkansas' shortcomings along the offensive line again?

Ryan Schumpert. Rocky Top Insider: Tennessee's defensive line, it's strength of its team and it's a strength in numbers thing. They've played three-deep really in every game so far this season. James Pearce is the big name. He's had a little bit of a quiet start this season, but he's still obviously a really good player. Two other guys have been breakout juniors, Tyre West is a strong side defensive end. He's had a great start to the season. Josh Josephs, who's Pearce's back-up at the outside linebacker spot will play opposite of Pearce in pass rush situations. He's had a great start of the season. In the middle, they're really deep there. Omari Thomas has played a lot of football. He's really solid player. Omarr Norman is a smaller defensive tackle, but he's had a really good season and is one of those guys that'll be in their third down pass rush packages. It's a strength in numbers situation. Nobody's stats just blow you away, but a lot of guys that are playing well. You look at the PFF stuff and some of the more advanced analytics, Josephs and West are top defensive linemen in the SEC right now.

Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. (27) during pregame activities against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at the Dukes Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

DS: Three-deep? Arkansas is lucky to be able to play two-deep...

RS: [Against] NC State, they went for a drive [with just the] third-team defensive line and that ended up being the best drive NC State had the whole game. Then they got in the red zone and subbed and ended up getting a pick six on that drive. Against Oklahoma, instead of a platoon system, they would rotate the third-team defensive linemen in more singularly in the middle of games with either the first- team or the second- team just to avoid a huge drop off. Those third guys aren't playing more than 10 snaps a game, but they're enough to keep guys fresh.

DS: Most fans are familiar with quarterback Nico Iamaleava and the running back duo of Dylan Samson and DeSean Bishop, how about the receiving corps though?

RS: It's an interesting one. They're deep there. They play a lot of guys. It's also just to the standpoint, they haven't been all that aggressive offensively. They've played the two games against FCS schools in Kent State, who's was worse than Chattanooga, the FCS team they played. They played NC State, who played a ton of 12 personnel against the 3-3-5 and ran the ball a lot. Then the Oklahoma game, both its starting offensive tackles were out, so once they got that lead, they really played very conservative because they did not block very well on the edge that game. The sample size hasn't been huge. They've played five or six guys. Bru McCoy has come back from injuries [and has] probably been their most reliable [and] the guy that Nico trusts the most. Chris Brazzell is a Tulane transfer. He starts out wide across from McCoy. Dont'e Thornton, who's a senior this year and transfer from Oregon last year has been their big play splash guy. He had a 66-yard touchdown against Oklahoma in the first half. He had another big 60-yard game on a broken play in the second half, ended up getting called back for holding. Those are the main guys.

Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Bru McCoy (5) reacts during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Kickoff between Arkansas and Tennessee is scheduled for Saturday 6:30 p.m. from Razorback Stadium for the SEC home opener. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

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