Here's what they said about Tennessee, just to get comparisons and an idea of how they grade us vs those other teams:
-last year excellent year
-top 20 in all major power rankings
-unfortunately caught Florida last year when Florida was still trying
-overall mood around UT -- hopeful, lot of buy in, top 10 class, lot to look forward to with Nico coming in next year too. Positive vibe, cautiously optimistic.
-when looking at offense last year, especially Hooker plays/games, Tennessee was top 10. Where can Hooker improve? Comfort with offense, proper reads, manipulating defenses. Not as elite of a runner as Dobbs but brings that athleticism when needed.
-OL played better than expected last year and returns 6 of top 7. Look to be improved. Tackle still solidifying, could see rotation along line in camp/season.
-replacing Jones and Payton at WR big focus.
-best 1st quarter scoring average in country and beat 1st quarter diff in country
-Hyatt ready to step up, Hooker and him watching a lot of film together and throwing together
-Bru and Tillman good duo. Could be a different unit than last year but not necessarily worse
-3 of top 4 on DL gone. Couldn't generate pass rush though. Hard to replace Butler. Need edge guys to make big jump.
-LB and safety have to get better if they want to improve on D. Will Mitchell finally emerge?
-secondary added transfers, but DBs replacing 2 NFLers.
-has to be defense that generates negative plays and turnovers to allow for offense to separate from opponent.
-really bad on 3rd down. Have to improve that. Pass rush is major part of that.
-playing more aggressive on D makes more sense when you run a lot of plays on offense. Try to get ball back, be ok with explosive plays from time to time.
-Bud thinks Tennessee could be East dark horse.
-7 to 9 wins should be expectation, could exceed.
-lot of question marks on defense. Offense has to be perfect to get over 9 wins.
-other than Alabama what game is Tennessee going into that they don't have the better QB? Big advantage. But need to get the defensive stops. Offense has to be elite in second half when defense *does* make plays.