Will Tennessee football's touted defensive linemen play up to their recruiting rankings?

HOOVER, Ala. — For those keeping score, and probably no one has been, eight offensive linemen and only three defensive linemen have represented SEC schools at this week’s conference media days.

Who cares, right?

Maybe, the SEC should care. It has a reputation to protect.

When the league had its run of seven consecutive national championships from 2006 through 2012, its wealth of talent in the defensive line repeatedly was cited as an advantage over the rest of college football.

Remember how Florida’s defensive front dominated Ohio State’s offensive line in determining the 2006 national championship? Or the havoc created by Alabama in multiple national championship games?

Contrast that with the most recent national championship game when Alabama’s defense couldn’t slow down Clemson’s offense. Granted, that’s only one game. But it’s obvious SEC defensive lines haven’t been wrecking offenses the way they once did.

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Perhaps, this season will be different. There’s certainly potential based on recruiting rankings.

Tennessee knows all about that. The Vols have a group of four-star defensive linemen who haven’t had much of an impact at the college level.

Defensive end Jonathan Kongbo, the No. 1 junior college prospect, made only one start last season. Moreover, the heralded pass rusher didn’t record a single sack.

Four-star defensive linemen Kahlil McKenzie, Shy Tuttle, and Kyle Phillips — all members of UT’s acclaimed 2015 recruiting class — have been affected by injuries. But when healthy enough to play, they have had little impact. In a combined 49 games, they have totaled two sacks and six tackles for loss.

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Darrell Taylor, another four-star recruit, has done even less. Taylor, who is expected to start at defensive end this season, was redshirted as a freshman and played in just seven games last season. 

Their production isn’t drastically different from other highly touted SEC defensive linemen in the 2015 recruiting class.

Based on 247Sports’ consensus rankings, the SEC signed six defensive linemen who were rated No. 14 or higher overall in the 2015 class: No. 1 Trent Thompson, Georgia; No. 3 Byron Cowart, Auburn; No. 6 McKenzie, Tennessee; No. 7 CeCe Jefferson, Florida; No. 13 Terry Beckner, Missouri; and No. 14 Daylon Mack, Texas A&M. It was quite a haul, and in keeping with the league’s reputation for producing distinguished defensive linemen.

So far, the production hasn’t matched the potential.

Mack and Cowart are still listed as non-starters on preseason depth charts. Beckner’s first two seasons were cut short by knee injuries.

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Thompson came on strong toward the end of his sophomore season but missed spring practice with an injury. Jefferson sometimes showed flashes of being an outstanding player in his first two seasons and could emerge as an All-SEC player this year.

Perhaps, other defensive linemen from the 2015 recruiting class will do the same. If so, the SEC will look more like the league once renowned for its defensive fronts.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: Twitter.com/johnadamskns.