No. 18 Tennessee will play its first game with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles on Saturday. His first contest will be against Furman (1-0) at Neyland Stadium (3:30 p.m. EDT, SEC Network+).
On Tuesday, Knowles discussed what he wants to accomplish in the first game and how it may influence future game plans.
"I don't want to give up any yards," Knowles said. "I want to get a shutout. I don't want to give up any first downs. Every game you go into, it's a process, but mostly I want to teach how we prepare for an opponent and how serious practice really is. I went over with the guys, practice does not make perfect, that's a myth. Practice makes permanent, so therefore, perfect practice makes perfect. We have to instill that mentality in game week
that we got to do it on the grass in practice to expect to do it in the game.
"If you make a mistake in practice, I'm going to find out why and I'm going to challenge you. Because, like I've said, when it comes to the game, and if you make a mistake in the game, that's my fault because I didn't get you ready. We're really just trying to establish the tempo of preparation for an opponent. It doesn't matter who we're playing, how do we do it, how intense it is. The responsibilities that the players have for the game plan, and the details of the game plan, how we practice, how we execute the game plan."
Knowles went to Tennessee after his two previous stints as defensive coordinator in the Big Ten. He was Penn State's defensive coordinator in 2025 after serving in the same capacity at Ohio State from 2022-24.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Jim Knowles details establishing tempo of preparation for an opponent
