Tennessee is set to open their 2026 season on Saturday against Furman, but they'll be without a key player on defense. Edrees Farooq, one of Tennessee's starting safeties, went down with a season-ending knee injury a couple of weeks ago . Farooq, by all accounts, was having an outstanding offseason and was viewed as a real difference maker for new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
"We will definitely miss Edrees," Knowles said this week. "He was one of the guys that I was most impressed with from the time I arrived here. That's a big part of the defense."
Farooq had a breakout sophomore season in 2025, making 13 starts. He tied for third on the team with 76 total tackles and secured two interceptions. Farooq was in line for a big 2026, but now Knowles will have to look elsewhere on the roster. Tennessee completely remade the secondary this offseason with a real focus on the safety position.
With TJ Metcalf slotted into one of the starting roles, Penn State transfer Dejaun Lane is likely going to take the other starting spot. Lane obviously has a good grasp on Knowles' system, coming with him from Penn State.
"You know, it's a cliche, but everybody says next man up," Knowles said. "So what we've had to do is just rotate some guys around at different positions to prepare for those situations when we might need a guy. So we've just had to make more guys interchangeable, including Qua (Moss), who I think is very talented."
Moss will be the starting nickel, but could handle other responsibilities as Knowles said. Beyond those three, Tennessee has Appalachian State transfer DJ Burks, along with Sidney Walton and Dylan Lewis. With Knowles' three-safety looks, all three of those guys figure to be in the rotation.
"We're cross-training (Moss) at the high safety positions, not only the nickel position, because we have enough good linebackers to be able to play a big nickel, Sam type of position. And if we need Qua in the back end, we can do that. So we're just cross-training. And then the backups with Sidney (Walton) and Dylan (Lewis) and DJ Burks, right? So we're just trying to really cross-train everywhere because of the fact that we're a little thin there."
An elite level athlete like Jadon Perlotte makes for an interesting potential "big nickel," as Knowles said.
Tennessee will go with Auburn transfer Kayin Lee and sophomore Ty Redmond at cornerback. As noted above, Qua Moss will handle most of the nickel duties while TJ Metcalf and Dejaun Lane will be at safety. We'll get our first look at the remade secondary on Saturday against Furman (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
