This offseason, Tennessee football retooled its defense through coaching staff changes and personnel moves in the transfer portal. One of the transfer additions to the Vols is Dejuan Lane out of Penn State.
However, you probably just pronounced his first name wrong when you read that. It’s not pronounced “duh-wahn”. Instead, the correct pronunciation is “DAY-zhaan”.
You’ll likely hear that name called a lot this season, as well, with Lane expected to be a contributor in the secondary. He was a backup safety for the Nittany Lions most of last year, starting in three games but playing in 12. The Maryland native totaled 290 snaps, earning a 71.0 PFF grade for his play.
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Now, Lane is following his Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and position coach Anthony Poindexter to Knoxville. He played this past season under Knowles and the last two under Poindexter at Penn State. Lane admitted that played a significant role in his decision.
“I love the defense so that was kind of a no-brainer for me,” Lane said. “I’ve been with Jim Knowles for a year and I like what I saw so far. I was (Anthony Poindexter) two years prior to this. He’s always producing good athletes in the league and good safeties. He’s a great coach and Hall of Famer himself. That was a lot for me and made it easier for me to transition. Easier for me to pick Tennessee and I like what they’re building here. I love the players, I love the coaching staff, I love what Tennessee represents so it was kind of easy for me to make the decision.”
You can see Lane in action this Saturday for the first time. He will participate in the annual spring Orange and White Game in Neyland Stadium. It is scheduled to begin at
