Josh Josephs on Tennessee's defensive line: 'No team can really stop us'

Tennessee expects big things in 2024, but to achieve in the SEC, the Volunteers will need to be stout in the trenches. As far as defensive lineman Josh Josephs is concerned, his unit is ready to roll in the league.

Discussing his unit with reporters amidst fall camp, Josephs raved about the talent and depth in the group. All told, he doesn’t expect much to stand in their way as the Vols defensive front hunts down quarterbacks this season.

“No team can really stop us,” Josephs said. “Like you can’t handle what we have. Even — the amount of rotations. We’re going to be so fresh on the field.”

He readily reeled off an array of teammates he expects to make impacts.

“We’ve got Big O [Omari Thomas], Big E [Elijah Simmons], Jaxson Moi, we’ve got Bryson Eason, Omarr Norman-Lott, we’ve got Daevin Hobbs. And that’s just the interior, right there,” Josephs said. “Them six guys on the interior that’s going to be rotating. Then our edges, y’all see it man. You can see who we’ve got. We’ve got James Pearce — ain’t even playing for him. You’ve got James, Caleb Herring — bro, come one, Caleb is a dog. We’ve got Jayson Jenkins, I’m telling you, he’s a sleeper. Jayson Jenkins is a sleeper. Dom Bailey for sure, Tyree [Weathersby]. We’ve got dogs everywhere. So you can’t really plan for us guys.” 

Tennessee is adjusting to a new quarterback this fall

Nico Iamaleava has settled in to his role as Tennessee‘s starting quarterback this offseason.

Leading an offensive line and poised for a run at the Outland Trophy in 2024, veteran center Cooper Mays is high on the young QB1. He recently spoke on his relationship with Iamaleava and how they’re meshing. After all, it’s the fifth-year Kingston native’s job to keep Iamaleava’s jersey clean this season.

“Nico is so mature for his age, you know, he’s a younger guy, but he doesn’t act like that,” Mays said on Monday. “But like you said, I’ve had guys that weren’t just mature, they were like 24-25 years old, like older guys. So it’s been a little bit of an adjustment. Just got to be really committed to kind of the whole offense in general. But especially with being the quarterback, you’ve got to talk a lot and kind of pick each other’s brains.

“He tries to see how I’m seeing things and I’m trying to see how he sees things. So just trying to get on the same page here, it’s been really cool.”