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Lets look at five reasons why the Tennessee football team might end its three-year bowl drought and make a postseason appearance in 2014.
Tennessee sophomore receiver Marquez North (News Sentinel photo)
Tomorrow well look at five reasons the Vols might not their first postseason appearance since the 2010 Music City Bowl in Nashville, but today well examine five reasons they might go bowling.
This is a more talented football team: Many things have been said about the direction of the Tennessee football program under second-year coach Butch Jones and his staff, but this is perhaps the most important and most accurate thing: The Vols become a more talented team. Scanning the field in the Spring of 2014 showed more talent than was on the field in the Spring of 2013, and theres no reason to expect anything different when comparing this years upcoming preseason camp to last years preseason camp. Much of that talent if young, but its genuine talent; SEC-caliber talent. The Vols arent anywhere close to where they need to be to compete for championships, but theyre closer than they were last season, at least in terms of overall talent.
This is a faster football team: Between an obvious upgrade in overall recruiting and some position switches designed to manufacture more team speed from within, this is a faster football team than it was last season. Some speedier skill-position players were recruited on both sides of the ball, and some position switches were made on defense linebackers to end, cornerbacks to safety, etc. and the result should be a faster overall team. And that, as much as anything, has been Tennessees biggest problem the past couple of years. The Vols didnt have nearly enough speed to make big plays that would have made it easier for them to overcome some of their deficiencies.
This team (probably) will have a senior quarterback: Say what you will about Justin Worley, but dont forget that the last time he was reasonably healthy, he led the Vols to a win over then-11th-ranked South Carolina in Neyland Stadium. Hes not Peyton Manning, but hes not bad. And he was showing clear signs of improvement toward the middle part of last season. And now hes a senior. Assuming he holds off sophomore Joshua Dobbs for the starting spot, hes plenty capable of surprising people and having a solid senior season. Hes the closest thing this team has to a leader on offense, and his experience could be a major plus for an offense that doesnt have much of it at several key position.
This team has at least one All-SEC-caliber defender on all three levels of the defense: Dynamic junior Curt Maggitt is back from an ACL repair, and the former outside linebacker is spending most of his time these days at defensive end. Between him, senior middle linebacker A.J. Johnson, sophomore cornerback Cameron Sutton and rock-solid junior safety Brian Randolph, the Vols have at least one all-conference-caliber defender at all three levels of their defense. Obviously the Vols have a ton of questions to answer on both sides of the ball, including defense, but their defense does have a nice, solid nucleus to form a talented, experienced, sturdy foundation. And that should be a big plus, assuming those players stay healthy.
There are at least six winnable games on the schedule: Tennessee might not be favored to win six games this season, and the Vols schedule is absolutely brutal. But there certainly are at least six winnable games on that schedule. If the Vols win the four games they almost certainly will be favored to win Utah State, Arkansas State, Tennessee-Chattanooga and Kentucky theyd need just two more wins to become bowl-eligible. If they won at longtime, in-state rival Vanderbilt a program undergoing major changes under a new coaching staff then the Vols would need to win only one more game to get to six. And they do host winnable home games against Florida and Missouri in October and November. The path is not a simple one, and its anything but a guarantee, but getting to six wins certainly isnt impossible.
Contact Wes Rucker BY EMAIL at wesrucker247@gmail.com, or ON TWITTER or ON FACEBOOK
Wes Rucker
Tennessee Insider - GoVols247
Tennessee sophomore receiver Marquez North (News Sentinel photo)
Tomorrow well look at five reasons the Vols might not their first postseason appearance since the 2010 Music City Bowl in Nashville, but today well examine five reasons they might go bowling.
This is a more talented football team: Many things have been said about the direction of the Tennessee football program under second-year coach Butch Jones and his staff, but this is perhaps the most important and most accurate thing: The Vols become a more talented team. Scanning the field in the Spring of 2014 showed more talent than was on the field in the Spring of 2013, and theres no reason to expect anything different when comparing this years upcoming preseason camp to last years preseason camp. Much of that talent if young, but its genuine talent; SEC-caliber talent. The Vols arent anywhere close to where they need to be to compete for championships, but theyre closer than they were last season, at least in terms of overall talent.
This is a faster football team: Between an obvious upgrade in overall recruiting and some position switches designed to manufacture more team speed from within, this is a faster football team than it was last season. Some speedier skill-position players were recruited on both sides of the ball, and some position switches were made on defense linebackers to end, cornerbacks to safety, etc. and the result should be a faster overall team. And that, as much as anything, has been Tennessees biggest problem the past couple of years. The Vols didnt have nearly enough speed to make big plays that would have made it easier for them to overcome some of their deficiencies.
This team (probably) will have a senior quarterback: Say what you will about Justin Worley, but dont forget that the last time he was reasonably healthy, he led the Vols to a win over then-11th-ranked South Carolina in Neyland Stadium. Hes not Peyton Manning, but hes not bad. And he was showing clear signs of improvement toward the middle part of last season. And now hes a senior. Assuming he holds off sophomore Joshua Dobbs for the starting spot, hes plenty capable of surprising people and having a solid senior season. Hes the closest thing this team has to a leader on offense, and his experience could be a major plus for an offense that doesnt have much of it at several key position.
This team has at least one All-SEC-caliber defender on all three levels of the defense: Dynamic junior Curt Maggitt is back from an ACL repair, and the former outside linebacker is spending most of his time these days at defensive end. Between him, senior middle linebacker A.J. Johnson, sophomore cornerback Cameron Sutton and rock-solid junior safety Brian Randolph, the Vols have at least one all-conference-caliber defender at all three levels of their defense. Obviously the Vols have a ton of questions to answer on both sides of the ball, including defense, but their defense does have a nice, solid nucleus to form a talented, experienced, sturdy foundation. And that should be a big plus, assuming those players stay healthy.
There are at least six winnable games on the schedule: Tennessee might not be favored to win six games this season, and the Vols schedule is absolutely brutal. But there certainly are at least six winnable games on that schedule. If the Vols win the four games they almost certainly will be favored to win Utah State, Arkansas State, Tennessee-Chattanooga and Kentucky theyd need just two more wins to become bowl-eligible. If they won at longtime, in-state rival Vanderbilt a program undergoing major changes under a new coaching staff then the Vols would need to win only one more game to get to six. And they do host winnable home games against Florida and Missouri in October and November. The path is not a simple one, and its anything but a guarantee, but getting to six wins certainly isnt impossible.
Contact Wes Rucker BY EMAIL at wesrucker247@gmail.com, or ON TWITTER or ON FACEBOOK
Wes Rucker
Tennessee Insider - GoVols247
