University of Tennessee Athletics
Communication Keys Defense
October 13, 2014 | Football
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
-- Butch Jones knows what the numbers say. His Volunteer defense stands second in the SEC in passing defense. The last two opponents have failed to break the 100-yard mark in the passing game. His team has held each opponent to its lowest point total of the season at the time of the contest.Jones also knows what's responsible for these statistics: Communication. And nowhere on the field is that more pronounced than at the linebacker position.
"Jalen Reeves-Maybin continues to progress in what I feel in one of the best linebackers in the SEC," Jones said of the sophomore. "I think he and A.J. (Johnson) are really feeing off of each other, playing well as a tandem together."
Reeves-Maybin appreciates the compliment, but he will not take credit for his unit. Nor does he see them as the only ones responsible for the 19.2 points per game the defense has allowed, nearly 10 points less than the 29.0 ppg they allowed in 2013.
"We try to come out and play to our standard every week," Reeves-Maybin said. "Our D-line is playing great and our secondary is playing great, so I think that's why you've seen teams struggle to throw the ball against us lately. It's great when those two groups are playing well with each other."
Something that has fostered the communication within the linebacker corps and across the defense is the consistency in both scheme and personnel.
"It's our second year in the defense so everyone out there is more comfortable and more confident in each other," Johnson said. "We know each other, we're more confident in each other, our communication, I think all of that has made it more smooth out there. It's all flowing together."
Reeves-Maybin has played a big part in the flow. After seeing most of his action as a freshman on special teams, he has exploded into his starting role at weak-side linebacker. Reeves-Maybin ranks second on the team and sixth in the SEC with 49 tackles, seven of those for a loss. He also ranks sixth in the conference with 8.2 tackles per game.
"I think he has benefitted from the repetitions at special teams," Jones said of Reeves-Maybin growing from game to game. "It's a tribute to his instincts. He plays instinctual. He prepares himself. He's taken much better care of his body. He understands rest. He understands recovery. He understands nutrition. He's doing the great things that players need to do to perform at a higher level week in and week out. We've been really, really pleased with him."
Reeves-Maybin has been pleased with his teammates, not just for the numbers they have put up, but for the way they have played together.
"We just try to go out there and play for each other," he said. "We have each other's back. We have a standard and we just try to play to that standard every week."
