Jim Knowles has just become a familiar face for Tennessee. They are closing in on hiring their new cornerbacks coach, who has worked with Knowles at Duke for several years. Now, they are ready to delve into those ties at Tennessee, and Josh Heupel is making it all count.

Josh Heupel’s team hired its new cornerbacks coach, Derek Jones, who will replace Michael Hunter Jr. from Virginia Tech. He is coming in with four seasons of experience as a defensive recruiting coordinator and a cornerback coach at the Hokies. However, James Franklin didn’t retain him, and Heupel seized the opportunity to bring him on staff.

Knowles and Heupel are well aware of Jones’ value, particularly his track record at Virginia Tech. During his time there, Jones has mentored top players like Dorian Strong and Mansoor Delane. He even helped the Hokies to secure six of the top 25 prospects in the state during the 2023 recruiting cycle.

His tenure at Duke, working alongside Knowles, produced one of the ACC’s top defenses in 2017, a unit that allowed a stingy 20.2 points per game, showcasing his ability to build disciplined secondaries.

Despite adversity in 2018 after losing his top cornerbacks, Mark Gilbert and Michael Carter II, to injury, his defensive unit was ranked fourth in the ACC. Tennessee’s cornerback room has been turbulent itself after losing its star cornerback Jermod McCoy to injury when he tore his ACL. Then even Rickey Gibson III missed the game for an extended period.

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The team, including Colton Hood and Tu Redmond, will look to refine their technique under Jones’s veteran coaching. He has a long track record of developing talent at schools like Memphis, Tulsa, Middle Tennessee State, Texas Tech, and Murray State. So, his 27 years of experience provide a steadying presence for a young position group.

In addition to his work with defensive backs, Jones also has a background in coaching special teams. He has also developed players in special teams. During his time at Duke, he served as an assistant special teams coordinator, helping WR Jamison Crowder reach the NFL in the fourth round. Moreover, Crowder went to Washington after shining on special teams. Even cornerback DeVon Edwards earned second-team Walter Camp All-America honors as a return specialist in 2013.

With Jones now in the fold, Tennessee hopes to stabilize a cornerback room that has been in flux and build a foundation for Knowles’ defensive scheme. This comes in handy after losing a familiar face who had been on the job for only one month.

Josh Heupel loses former CB coach to the NFL

Tennessee lost its cornerback coach, Michael Hunter, after just one month on the job. He joined Josh Heupel’s staff back on January 2. But as soon as February hit, he went straight to Los Angeles, leaving the Vols in great misery. Losing Hunter was a colossal blow for the team, as he spearheaded their recruiting efforts, landing players like cornerback Kaylin Lee and Jadais Richard.

Hunter’s departure was a significant setback precisely because he was already familiar with Jim Knowles’ system, having worked under him at multiple stops. He has worked under him as an assistant defensive backs coach at Ohio State and even helped him build the 2024 championship-winning team. He was also part of the defensive pass game at Tulsa in 2023 and worked at Oklahoma State, where he again worked with Knowles.

Despite that long-standing relationship and familiarity, Hunter chose the NFL. Hunter’s move to the NFL was a logical career step, but it left Tennessee in a difficult position. Now that the team has another familiar face in Tennessee, it will be fascinating to see how things turn around for them.