The Tennessee offense is in transition and in the headlines.

You have two freshmen vying for the starting quarterback position. You have twice that many players in the running for the tailback job. You have three times that many wide receivers contending for a starting position.

So it's easy to forget about the defense. It's also easy to make assumptions about the defense.

You assume it will be good. You assume that because defensive coordinator John Chavis has consistently fielded an aggressive, hard-hitting defense that too often has had to rescue a troubled offense.

But this defense must first save itself.

Granted, the linebacking corps is talented, deep and experienced; Parys Haralyson could be on the verge of a breakout season at end; and Jason Allen might be an All-SEC-caliber cornerback.

Nonetheless, the trouble spots aren't hard to find. Defensive coordinator John Chavis sees them better than anyone.

He's concerned about depth at tackle and is still uncertain about his starting secondary. His secondary goal is to get the four best players on the field, meaning Allen could move to safety to make room for a promising young cornerback like Roshaun Fellows or Jonathan Hefney.

But a bigger issue overall is experience.

Starting safeties Cory Campbell and Brandon Johnson have three career starts combined. Campbell, who made the All-SEC freshman team last season, has all three starts. Cornerback Jonathan Wade's only two starts have coming at wide receiver.

More-experienced secondaries than this one have broken down against Florida. And this bunch will have to contend with Florida quarterback Chris Leak in the second game of the season.

"The smart thing to do is to make sure they can execute what you want them to do," Chavis said of the young secondary. "That means you might have to cut back on your package, and let your package grow with your team.

"Everybody has a lot of schemes. But having a good feel for what your players can execute is vital."

Experience doesn't mean as much at defensive tackle. Yet you can't ignore the fact that UT's top three tackles - Justin Harrell, Tony McDaniel and Jesse Mahelona - have never started a college game and have a total of 18 career tackles. Auburn is the only other SEC team that doesn't return at least one starting tackle on defense.

As good as UT's linebackers look on paper, there are question marks. Preseason All-SEC linebacker Kevin Burnett struggled through last season while trying to come back from a serious knee injury. If he returns to pre-injury form, that will answer one of the questions.

Kevin Simon, another potential All-SEC player, has had a history of injury problems and is having to adjust to a new position. If he avoids injury, he could be just what UT needs at middle linebacker after playing on the outside last season.

You keep hearing how UT needs playmakers on offense. It also needs them on defense.

The Vols ranked 22nd nationally and fourth in the SEC in total defense last season. But they were fifth in the conference in sacks, tied for fifth in pass interceptions and were 11th in fumbles recovered.

LSU, which led the nation in total defense last year, forced 11 more turnovers than UT. Georgia, which ranked fourth, forced seven more.

The difference in those defenses and UT's isn't limited to turnovers. LSU, and Georgia have more experience, more stars and more offense to complement them.

UT, which has only two senior starters, needs a year to catch up.

John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.