Tennessee Volunteers Preview

The Volunteers look to rebound from a 6-7 season that saw some crazy officiating probably cost them games against LSU and the Music City
Bowl against UNC (Ultimately, the UNC game will probably become a win for the Vols.)

The 2010 Vols were a young team with very little depth. They hung tough with Oregon, Florida and Alabama for a little over a half before the lack of depth eventually was too much to overcome. That’s what happens when you are on your third coach in three years.

Offense

This unit is full of young talent that really started to show promise by the end of the season.

Sophomore Tyler Bray is going to start at quarterback. There is no doubt that Bray has a big time arm and a lot of upside. He has great accuracy and can throw the deep ball as well as anyone in the conference. However, Bray also is known for trying to throw the ball through defenders, Brett Favre style, and can turn the ball over a little more than you would like to see. Plus, he really needs to gain some weight.

Senior Tauren Poole played well early on last season, but really fell off by the end of the year. The Vols really need him to step up. Rajon Neal and Marlin Lane will see lots of action. Lane is a freshman and has been one of the stars early in preseason camp.

Tennessee has two big threats at wide receiver in sophomores Justin Hunter and DaRick Rogers. Hunter and Rogers might be the best receiving tandem in the conference. Zach Rogers will get a shot to win a job in the slot with freshman DeAnthony Arnett pushing him for playing time. Mychal Rivera is going to start at tight end, his sister is on ‘Glee,’ if anyone cares.

The most solid unit on the team is the offensive line, lead by junior Dallas Thomas at left tackle. The rest of the line is sophomores who played a lot of big minutes last season.

Defense

This unit is still of the ball is still a work in progress. The DBs should be good, but the inside game still needs a lot of work.

I would imagine the front four will be Jacques Smith, Maurice Couch, Malik Jackson and Willie Bohannon. All are very talented, but there are some injury concerns and some depth issues.

The linebacker unit seems to be the weakest on the team. Herman Lathers is the LB Tennessee has and he is out until at least the Buffalo game. Austin Johnson, Greg King and Daryl Vereen will really have to step it up. Curt Maggitt and A.J. Johnson are two freshman that could see a lot of time early.

Tennessee is very deep in the secondary. Brent Brewer and Janzen Jackson will start at safety, they might be the hardest hitting safeties Tennessee has had in a decade. Anthony Anderson, Prentiss Waggner and Justin Coleman will all get lots of time on the field.

Special Teams

This is another unit of concern for Tennessee. Michael Palardy will be the place kicker and maybe the punter if Matt Darr doesn’t play well.

Schedule

Tennessee opens with Montana and then hosts Cincinnati and probably will be undefeated going to Gainesville. October starts off with Buffalo then gets difficult with UGA, LSU, at Bama and South Carolina. Tennessee closes with MTSU, at Arkansas, Vandy and at Kentucky.

I think the likely wins are Montana, Cincinnati, Buffalo, MTSU, Vandy and Kentucky.

I think the Vols sneak up on two of Florida, UGA, LSU, Carolina or Arkansas. I’ll say Florida and LSU.

I don’t see the Vols beating Bama in Tuscaloosa. 8-4 would probably sent them to the Cotton Bowl or the Outback Bowl. A nine win season isn’t improbable and would net a lot of big praise on Dooley. This team could easily go anywhere from 6-7 to 10-3 and win the SEC East (which is wide open). In reality, Tennessee is probably still a year away from being a legitimate contender in the East.

– Smitty

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