Former Alabama QB Greg McElroy offers a strong take on Tennessee Vols' defense after hearing updates from fall camp

Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback turned ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy is feeling optimistic about the Tennessee Vols' defense in 2024 after hearing some updates from fall camp in Knoxville.

McElroy said on Monday that he thinks Tennessee's defense has a chance to be one of the best in the SEC. He also said he thinks the Vols' defensive line might be the best in the conference.

"The thing that I keep hearing about all off season for Tennessee is they're going to go as (starting QB) Nico Iamaleava is going to go, which, by the way, might still be 100 percent true," said McElroy. "Now, it's hard to get a gauge on where they are right now, offensively. They're without three offensive linemen, Dylan Sampson's been dealing with a minor knee injury and hasn't scrimmaged. They've also been without some of their top receivers, whether it's Bru McCoy, Dont'e Thornton. I think Mike Matthews, the freshmen, has been out. Braylon Staley has been out. They've had a ton of guys that have been in and out of the lineup offensively, so there hasn't been a ton of continuity there. But we continue to forget that this defense has a chance to be one of the best in the league. I mean, their defensive line might be the best in the SEC.

"And the one question mark for Tennessee has been the secondary. And I continue to hear Jermod McCoy's name mentioned, the Oregon State transfer, as one of the standouts in camp so far. So you now have a standout at one of the positions that was a significant question. They're moving in the right direction. I'm feeling better about the preseason predictions about where Tennessee might ultimately be. And it might not be because of the offense, it might be because the defense early on can really get after the quarterback and create a lot of issues for the opposing offense. And them kind of carrying the water until that offense is ready to take flight. And that might take a week or two."

McCoy, specifically, is a player that was praised by Vols secondary coach Willie Martinez on Monday while meeting with reporters.

“The first thing I’ll say about Jermod, he’s such a great teammate," said Martinez. "He comes from a different situation, obviously in the dynamics of college football now, right? Different team last year, he comes to our program and he is who he says he was. High character. He’s a great player, he’s a great kid. He’s a great young man and coming into our room, he has a good feel for the room, the awareness of fitting in and he’s led. He’s not the loudest guy, but just little things where guys might be complaining or not sure about something, man, there’s always a positive spin to it. He sees that glass half full and I’ve noticed that from the beginning, the consistency every day.

"He’s a very competitive person both on and off the field. And he’s a playmaker. He’s one of those guys that just got one of the turnovers today, and when he doesn’t get something or it doesn’t happen for him, he’s harder on himself and the teammates see that. Players see that."

McElroy has received some negative feedback from Vols fans recently because of his terrible Tony Vitello take earlier this summer, but he's really one of the best college football analysts out there. That doesn't mean he always nails it -- no one who covers the sport does (otherwise it wouldn't be very fun to follow college football). But McElroy usually provides solid analysis. His opinion is worth listening to (even when it's something you might not want to hear as a fan).

In this instance, though, McElroy is starting see what Tennessee fans have sensed all summer -- this Vols defense might be better than anyone dreamed it could be in 2024.

Related: Former Vols OC Alex Golesh gets candid about taking over a tough situation at Tennessee in 2021