College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Tennessee Volunteers season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Tennessee Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 8-5 overall, 5-3 in SEC
Head Coach: Jeremy Pruitt, 3rd year, 13-12
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 25
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 36
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 33
Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Tennessee Volunteers Offense 3 Things To Know
– It wasn’t a phenomenal year for the Tennessee offense, but after two disastrous seasons for the attack, averaging 366 yards and 24 points per game wasn’t bad. The O scored more than 24 points against five FBS teams after doing that just three times in the previous two years.
Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney has to get more out of the ground game, but the deep plays were there for a passing attack that averaged more than 14 yards per pass.
And now the quarterback situation will be a big thing early on.
CFN in 60 Video: Tennessee Volunteers Preview
– Jarrett Guarantano was good. He led the team to the bowl win – even with a mediocre game – and he had moments when he looked and played like a potentially special talent to work the O. However, he was maddeningly inconsistent, and that opened the door for Brian Mauer, a talented freshman who failed to hit 50% of his passes with just two touchdown passes and five picks.
On the way is Harrison Bailey, the star of the recruiting class with the next-level pro passing skills to potentially take over the gig right away – he’s going to be the starter if and when Tennessee is playing for really, really big things again.
The quarterback situation will be fine. The receiving corps is another story.
Three of the top four pass catchers from last season are done, with only 6-2, 195-pound Josh Palmer returning among the top guys. Getting USC transfer Velus Jones helps – he caught 81 passes for 1,947 yards and a touchdown in his three seasons with the Trojans – but the pressure is on the recruiting class to step up. 6-5 Malachi Wideman is the best of the group, but Jalin Hyatt and Jimmy Calloway were brought in to play immediate roles, too.
– The offensive line has the potential to be phenomenal as long as all the parts are there. Trey Smith is the star of the show at his left guard spot. He’s the All-SEC anchor and next-level starter, but sophomore Wanya Morris is growing into a special blocker, too, at least tackle.
Morris has to get healthy after having a hip problem, and big-time transfer Cade Mays from Georgia needs to be eligible. No matter what, this is going to be one of the team’s biggest strengths with – most likely – five starters back in some form.
The O line with all of the upside has to pave the way for more of a ground attack. The top three running backs – Ty Chandler, Eric Gray, and Tim Jordan – all return, and a few good options are coming in from the recruiting class.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Tennessee Volunteers Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Tennessee Volunteers Defense 3 Things To Know
– The defense held its own, especially as the season went on. The pass rush was good, there were plenty of interceptions, and the D as a whole allowed just 335 yards and 22 points per game.
The linebacking corps takes the biggest talent hit with leading tackler Daniel Bituli gone along with pass rusher Darrell Taylor, but lots and lots of relatively untested options are back around second-leading tackler Henry To’o To’o. Give it time and this will be a good group, but it’ll take a while to figure out the right rotation.
– The line has to find pass rushers. Overall, the defense was able to get into the backfield without too much of a problem, but most of the heavy lifting came from the linebackers.
6-7, 305-pound senior Darel Middleton has to come back from a knee injury, and former Michigan transfer Aubrey Solomon has to do more on the other side. The big young bodies on the inside should form an excellent rotation.
– Enough good defensive backs return to be okay, but not having main man Nigel Warrior around at safety hurts. Senior Shawn Shamburger is back at one safety/nickel spot after finishing fifth on the team with 47 tackles, and Jaylen McCollough is back after a strong freshman season.
Junior Bryce Thompson should be the team’s best corner, but that distinction might change once star recruit Keshawn Lawrence gets his chance.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Tennessee Volunteers Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Tennessee Volunteers Players
Best Tennessee Volunteers Offensive Player
OG Trey Smith, Sr.
It’s been an interesting run. The 6-6, 335-pounder was seen as a prototype left tackle with the right size and skills to be special, but just as he was coming off a great freshman season and turned it into a good sophomore campaign, he had to take a timeout due to health issues.
The scary blood clotting problem was fixed, he came back for his junior year, and he turned into a killer of a left guard. Back for one more year, he should be a first round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft if he can maintain his elite level.
2. OT Wanya Morris, Soph.
3. WR Josh Palmer, Sr.
4. PK Brent Cimaglia, Sr.
5. QB Jarrett Guarantano, Sr.
Best Tennessee Volunteers Defensive Player
LB Henry To’o To’o, Soph.
A good recruit out of California, the hope was that he’d step in and be a good part of the rotation early on. Instead, he rose up into a star and a major factor finishing second on the team with 72 tackles with five tackles for loss.
The 6-2, 235-pounder was stead from the start and kept on producing, coming up with seven tackles or more eight times. Watch out for him to turn into an even more dangerous pass rusher.
2. CB Bryce Thompson, Jr.
3. S Theo Jackson, Sr.
4. S Shawn Shamburger, Sr.
5. DE Darel Middleton, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Tennessee Volunteers Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Tennessee Volunteers Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Tennessee Volunteers Offense
There has to be some consistency to the passing game. It was the best passing season by the program since 2016, but there were too many strange outings when the thing just didn’t seem to work.
The passing offense wasn’t all that bad early on, and Tennessee lost the first two games. It pushed the ball down the field against Georgia, and the team got blown out. It didn’t do a thing against Vanderbilt, and it was a win.
The Vols just never seemed able to get the same performance twice, and that might be even harder this year with receiving corps full of new parts.
Biggest Key To The Tennessee Volunteers Defense
Generating a bit more of a pass rush from the front three would be nice. It’s not totally necessary – the defense was able to manufacture pressure from all sides – but the line only generated 9.5 of the team’s 34 sacks.
It’s not really the job of the line to hit the quarterback – that’s mostly for the linebacking corps to deal with – but there’s enough experience and enough options returning to start doing more.
LaTrell Bumphus did a decent job at generating tackles for loss, and tackle Greg Emerson came up with a few, but again, it was mostly up to others to get into the backfield. Even so, the overall D worked – it improved the pressure over the last few years.
Key Tennessee Volunteers Player To A Successful Season
WR Josh Palmer, Sr.
The quarterback situation will figure itself out. Jarrett Guarantano is good enough to handle the gig, but if someone else rises up and takes over, that just means the competition level was just that good. But it won’t matter all that much if the way-young receiving corps isn’t great.
There’s a ton of talent from the recruiting class along with some nice parts that looked okay last year, but Palmer has to become the No. 1 guy. He finished second on the team with 34 catches for 457 yards and a score, but he has the deep play ability to do more. The team needs his veteran presence as the go-to guy.
Key Game To The Tennessee Volunteers Season
Florida, Sept. 26
Losing 13 straight to Alabama stinks, and it would be a massive deal if the Vols could beat Oklahoma to start the season, but taking out Florida in the SEC opener would be massive.
The Vols got crushed by the Gators 34-3 last season for their third loss in a row in the series and their 15th loss in the last 16. With winnable games against Missouri and at South Carolina to follow, there’s a chance for a big start to the conference season.
– Tennessee Volunteers Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Tennessee Fun Stats
– Fumbles: Tennessee 16 (lost 7) – Opponents 10 (lost 4)
– 4th Down Conversions: Opponents 13-of-28 (46%) – Tennessee 2-of-12 (17%)
– Tennessee 2nd Quarter Scoring: 110 – Tennessee 2nd Half Scoring 115
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Tennessee Volunteers Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Tennessee Volunteers Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
And to think, Tennessee started out the season with home losses to Georgia State and BYU on the way to a brutal 1-4 start.
Oh yeah, and that run ended with losses to Florida and Georgia by a combined score of 77-17.
Fast-forward to now. The Vols are coming off another great-looking recruiting season, there’s a ton of young talent in place to build around, and under head coach Jeremy Pruitt it’s finally starting to look like the program is about to be a thing again.
It’s not time to make any plans for the SEC Championship or anything, but considering the shocking turnaround last year – closing out with the thriller of all bowl game thrillers with a comeback for the ages to beat Indiana 23-22 in the Gator – there’s real, honest-to-goodness hope.
Blow off the question marks about the quarterbacking consistency, and just assume enough new parts are going to rise up at receiver and in the defensive back eight to be fine. The key for Tennessee’s improvement is on the lines –
The potential is there – if everyone is healthy and eligible – to come up one of the nation’s best offensive fronts, and the defensive front three is looking like what Pruitt wants.
Set The Tennessee Volunteers Regular Season Win Total At … 7
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 7.5
There can’t be a step back.
Think of it this way. Had the Vols not gacked against Georgia State and BYU, it would’ve been a ten-win season – blowing off that the early losses might have propelled the team to bigger things – and that doesn’t even include the 35-13 loss to Alabama that was much, much closer than the final score, thanks to a big fumble recovery.
This time around, at Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama, at Georgia. The Vols have to win at least one of those, and there can’t be any other mistakes against at South Carolina, Kentucky or Missouri.
It’ll be a bowl season, and there will be improvements and more consistency. Beat one of the big boys on the slate along the way, and it really will be time to get excited.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
