Yesterday, we took our best guess at Jeremy Pruitt’s ideal roster makeup and concluded it would probably look something like the following:

• 3-6 nose tackles;
• 6-10 defensive ends;
• 5-8 inside linebackers;
• 5-8 outside linebackers;
• 4-8 safeties;
• 5-10 cornerbacks;
• 4-6 running backs;
• 3-4 quarterbacks;
• 3-6 tight ends;
• 8-13 wide receivers; and
• 14-18 offensive linemen

Today, we’ll start taking a closer look at the returning roster to see how Pruitt might be viewing the current roster compared to his ideal roster. We’ll start with the defensive line.

Nose Tackles (3-6)

It’s probably not much of a stretch to think that defense will be foremost on Pruitt’s mind as he gets to work. In his 3-4 scheme, nose tackle is arguably the first and most important piece of the puzzle, which at first glance makes Kahlil McKenzie’s decision to leave early for the NFL all the more baffling.

Tennessee’s official roster does not delineate between defensive ends and tackles, so we’re going to go through the information to see which guys meet the ideal criteria for a nose tackle, which is a guy who is 5’11” to 6’5″ and between 290 and 340 pounds. Here’s a list of those guys:

Unless I’m mistaken, both Paul Bain and Maurese Smith are walk-ons, so they won’t be included in this analysis.

Looking at this list, it’s pretty clear that Shy Tuttle has the inside track to nailing down the starting position at nose tackle. He may have also beaten McKenzie out for that spot if McKenzie had chosen to return. That there is only one spot available might actually explain McKenzie’s decision to leave early.

In addition to the returning guys, the Vols also have signed letters of intent from three defensive linemen within 5-10 pounds of ideal nose tackle weight in Greg Emerson, Brant Lawless, and Kingston Harris. They also have a commitment from D’Andre Litaker, who already fits the criteria.

With three nose tackles already on scholarship, one probably coming, and at least three other recruits who could maybe grow into the position, the Vols are within their range of 3-6 nose tackles, but also have some room to add a couple more if desired.

Defensive Ends (6-10)

The ideal criteria for a defensive end is someone who is 6’2″ to 6’6″ and between 270 and 310 pounds. The list of returning guys on Tennessee’s roster who meet that criteria are . . . drumroll . . .

No, that is not a mistake. Matthew Butler is the only defensive lineman on Tennessee’s roster who meets the ideal height and weight combination for a defensive end in the 3-4.

That leaves ten defensive linemen on Tennessee’s returning roster who don’t fit as either a nose tackle or a defensive end in the 3-4:

Brandon Benedict and TJ Minnifee are walk-ons, so don’t count against the scholarship limit.

Of the remaining guys, everyone seems to be a bit undersized for their positions, although some are very close. The Vols also have a signed letter of intent from Jordan Allen, whose recruiting profile lists him as a weakside defensive end, but he, too, is undersized at only 230 pounds. At that weight, he may actually end up a linebacker this fall.

With all of that, it appears that Tennessee currently has only one defensive end that is ideally-sized for the 3-4. Jonathan Kongbo and Kyle Phillips are the right height and are close to the right weight for the position, and we know that Darrell Taylor can play the spot despite being 15 pounds shy of the lower target range for weight. All said, though, it seems that there are a ton of defensive linemen who will be asked to add weight this offseason, and even then, the Vols may still be short 2-6 true defensive ends. The problem, of course, is that there are a lot of spots taken up by guys who may not fit the mold Pruitt is looking for, and he won’t be able to just add his guys without having those spots available.

Now that Jeremy Pruitt has arrived on Rocky Top full-time, his first order of business — after learning everyone’s names — is shoring up his first recruiting class. National Signing Day is Wednesday, February 7, so he has about four full weeks to put the finishing touches on a class that already has 14 signees thanks to the early signing period this year. The class currently ranks 16th in the nation, 5th in the SEC, and 2nd in the SEC East, and there is plenty of time and room to move up.

What, exactly, is Pruitt looking for? Apart from getting quality guys, it’s all a guessing game at this point. He’s said that character matters, and he’s said that he has certain criteria in mind for each position, but beyond that, he’s not really tipping his hand.

The kind of player Pruitt most desires depends of course on the schemes he plans to run, so let’s first make some educated guesses as to what Pruitt’s offensive and defensive schemes might look like. It’s important to note that Pruitt will likely adapt any scheme to the players he has on the roster, so while he will certainly be recruiting toward his ideal, what we see from his team in Year 1 may well be different by Year 4.

Defensive Scheme

It’s not a stretch to expect Pruitt to utilize the defensive scheme that has worked so well for him as defensive coordinator at Alabama, Georgia, and Florida State since 2013. This article from Florida State blog Tomahawk Nation notes that FSU moved almost immediately to a 3-4 defense when Pruitt was hired in 2013 despite initially saying that they probably would have to wait for a recruiting class or two. Assuming something similar happens here at UT this year, Pruitt may go ahead and rip off the bandaid and make the move to his preferred 3-4 even if he doesn’t yet have the ideal personnel to do it.

What personnel does he need? This excellent article from SB Nation suggests that the ideal defensive roster in a 3-4 scheme should look something like this:

• 3-6 nose tackles;
• 6-10 defensive ends;
• 5-8 inside linebackers;
• 5-8 outside linebackers;
• 4-8 safeties; and
• 5-10 cornerbacks

Here are the suggested ranges for size and speed for each position:

That information is for a two-gap 3-4 scheme, and it appears that Pruit may run a newer one-gap 3-4 variation, so Pruitt may well be looking for different numbers, sizes, or speeds.

Offensive Scheme

What offensive style Pruitt’s team runs is more of a mystery. Offensive coordinator Tyson Helton was most recently the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for USC. Prior to that, Helton was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Western Kentucky under Jeff Brohm, who’s been heavily influenced by Bobby Petrino. This style of offense may best be described as a modern-era pro-style and is characterized as a balanced, up-tempo, explosive offense that features mutiple options and layers of misdirection that stress the attention of the defense before exploiting its weaknesses.

The SB Nation article on ideal rosters for popular schemes includes two spread schemes and a traditional pro-style, so it doesn’t specifically address what we might see on the field starting this fall, but here is the suggested ideal roster for the traditional pro-style scheme:

• 4-6 running backs;
• 3-4 quarterbacks;
• 3-6 tight ends;
• 8-13 wide receivers; and
• 14-18 offensive linemen

If I had to guess, I’d say Helton’s system would be on the high end for tight ends and wide receivers.

Here are the suggested ranges for size and speed for the offensive positions:

Later, we’ll take a look at Tennessee’s current roster and the current signees to see where Pruitt may be looking to build toward the future with this year’s recruiting class.