UTGhostHunter
Amatuer Analyst
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This is from my personal SEC blog. I'll be happy to share the address if anyone asks, but otherwise I'm just going to post this one topic from my blog because I thought some people here on Volnation might be interested. Like or troll it; that's up to you. I put it out here, so I'm prepare for either :dunno:
Why Tennessee is a Legitimate Player in the SEC East
Im a Tennessee fan. There, I said it. Im possibly biased and I definitely like Tennessee a little better than other analysts do. That said, I also spend a great deal more time analyzing Tennessee, making sure I not only know the roster inside and out, but that Im familiar with the stats, system, and coaches. Could I be letting my biased sway me? Sure, but I dont believe that I am.
Lets start where everyone else in the country is: spring football. Like every other team in the country, the Vols have wrapped up their spring camp. Every team in the SEC wrapped up their spring with a spring game. First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the fact that not all spring games are created equal. Some teams treat it like a glorified scrimmage, and others treat it like a full game. The format of the spring game can have a huge effect on the statistics coming out of the game. That said, I want to post a few of the spring game stats, to provide a little perspective on where the Vols seem to stand offensively. The leaders of the statistical pack were the Crimson Tide, who racked up 933 all-purpose yards. Next was Arkansas with 877, followed by the Bayou Bengals with 797. Then came the Vols with 759, then Mississippi State with 713, and the Gamecocks with 676. These teams mostly treat the spring finale as a full-on game, though sometimes its a jumble of players, sometimes its ones-on-ones, and sometimes its ones-on-twos. Depending on the format, the stats can differ, but Tennessee put ones-on-ones and twos-on-twos, so their stats should be fairly representative of a game time situation. These stats are somewhat meaningless, but it shows that Tennessee may have the most explosive offense in the East, and the fact that the most athletic member of their receiving corps didnt participate while several other potential key performers were still un-enrolled seems to indicate strong potential.
Tennessee may have the best size-to-athleticism ratio of any group of receivers in the SEC. Justin Hunter is a nationally competitive long jumper, DaRick Rogers is the sort of receiver who does it all, and newcomer Cordarelle Patterson is an explosive deep threat. The best part about the three of them is not one of them stands under 63. With several freshman receivers also joining the team, each with high athleticism, Tyler Bray wont be lacking in targets. Even the tight ends are solid, with Mychal Rivera providing a steady receiver with size, and second-stringer Cam Clear providing the largest target in the conference (66, 283).
Tennessee finally has bodies at the running back position and the backs began to perform well in the spring. That hadnt been the case before, but now Marlin Lane, Rajion Neal, and Devrin Young have all had chances to shine this spring, and there is an opportunity for even more production with the lightning-fast Quenshaun Watson and the do-everything Davante Bourque joining the team this summer. Tom Smith and Alden Hill have shown flashes of being strong power backs as well.
This is the most experienced offensive line in the SEC. The Vols offensive line consists of 99 total starts, and there are several newcomers who are pushing for time as well. The newly added offensive line coach Sam Pittman has brought a new attitude to the line, and they no longer appear willing to accept a passive approach.
The new defensive scheme isnt perfect (yet), but there were pieces missing that are expected to contribute. Prentiss Waggner wasnt healthy, Curt Maggitt was sitting out, and players like Daniel McCullers havent enrolled yet. This left the Vols inserting a system that wasnt getting contributions from some of the expected contributors. That should be corrected by this summer, which will give Tennessee a chance to really see what this defense can be.
This is the deepest team that Derek Dooley has had at Tennessee. Hell, as a head coach, hes never had a team that was this deep. If he cant make headway this season, he never will. There are some difficult games on the schedule, but there are a lot of home contests which should give the Vols a chance to take advantage of the home crowd, score early, get them involved, and prevent a comeback. There are no more excuses for failure.
Kicking and punting are issues, but help may be on the way. True freshman George Bullock is a talented kicker with a cannon leg. If he can step on campus and provide some boom in the kicking and/or punting game, that will help the Vols win the field position game and gain some consistency on field goals, which hasnt been present since Britton Colquitt and James Wilhoit were filling the roles.
Although there are shortcomings in the kicking game, the returns should be the best theyve been in years. In the spring game, Devrin Young and Marlin Lane combined for 163 kick return yards, showing how explosive the return game can be. Devrin Young provided a sampling last season of his talent. Cordarrelle Patterson is an exceptional kick returner too.
Georgia and South Carolina are the teams to beat in the SEC East, but after that, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida, and Vanderbilt are all battling for positioning. Tennessee is at least on par with these programs, but in my opinion, they are the number three team in the East, and with a lucky win against Georgia or South Carolina, or maybe a huge victory over Alabama, the Vols can prove to be amongst the top teams in the SEC overall. The time for excuses is gone, and the Vols better do it now or Dooley will have to enjoy his severance pay.
Why Tennessee is a Legitimate Player in the SEC East
Im a Tennessee fan. There, I said it. Im possibly biased and I definitely like Tennessee a little better than other analysts do. That said, I also spend a great deal more time analyzing Tennessee, making sure I not only know the roster inside and out, but that Im familiar with the stats, system, and coaches. Could I be letting my biased sway me? Sure, but I dont believe that I am.
Lets start where everyone else in the country is: spring football. Like every other team in the country, the Vols have wrapped up their spring camp. Every team in the SEC wrapped up their spring with a spring game. First and foremost, I want to acknowledge the fact that not all spring games are created equal. Some teams treat it like a glorified scrimmage, and others treat it like a full game. The format of the spring game can have a huge effect on the statistics coming out of the game. That said, I want to post a few of the spring game stats, to provide a little perspective on where the Vols seem to stand offensively. The leaders of the statistical pack were the Crimson Tide, who racked up 933 all-purpose yards. Next was Arkansas with 877, followed by the Bayou Bengals with 797. Then came the Vols with 759, then Mississippi State with 713, and the Gamecocks with 676. These teams mostly treat the spring finale as a full-on game, though sometimes its a jumble of players, sometimes its ones-on-ones, and sometimes its ones-on-twos. Depending on the format, the stats can differ, but Tennessee put ones-on-ones and twos-on-twos, so their stats should be fairly representative of a game time situation. These stats are somewhat meaningless, but it shows that Tennessee may have the most explosive offense in the East, and the fact that the most athletic member of their receiving corps didnt participate while several other potential key performers were still un-enrolled seems to indicate strong potential.
Tennessee may have the best size-to-athleticism ratio of any group of receivers in the SEC. Justin Hunter is a nationally competitive long jumper, DaRick Rogers is the sort of receiver who does it all, and newcomer Cordarelle Patterson is an explosive deep threat. The best part about the three of them is not one of them stands under 63. With several freshman receivers also joining the team, each with high athleticism, Tyler Bray wont be lacking in targets. Even the tight ends are solid, with Mychal Rivera providing a steady receiver with size, and second-stringer Cam Clear providing the largest target in the conference (66, 283).
Tennessee finally has bodies at the running back position and the backs began to perform well in the spring. That hadnt been the case before, but now Marlin Lane, Rajion Neal, and Devrin Young have all had chances to shine this spring, and there is an opportunity for even more production with the lightning-fast Quenshaun Watson and the do-everything Davante Bourque joining the team this summer. Tom Smith and Alden Hill have shown flashes of being strong power backs as well.
This is the most experienced offensive line in the SEC. The Vols offensive line consists of 99 total starts, and there are several newcomers who are pushing for time as well. The newly added offensive line coach Sam Pittman has brought a new attitude to the line, and they no longer appear willing to accept a passive approach.
The new defensive scheme isnt perfect (yet), but there were pieces missing that are expected to contribute. Prentiss Waggner wasnt healthy, Curt Maggitt was sitting out, and players like Daniel McCullers havent enrolled yet. This left the Vols inserting a system that wasnt getting contributions from some of the expected contributors. That should be corrected by this summer, which will give Tennessee a chance to really see what this defense can be.
This is the deepest team that Derek Dooley has had at Tennessee. Hell, as a head coach, hes never had a team that was this deep. If he cant make headway this season, he never will. There are some difficult games on the schedule, but there are a lot of home contests which should give the Vols a chance to take advantage of the home crowd, score early, get them involved, and prevent a comeback. There are no more excuses for failure.
Kicking and punting are issues, but help may be on the way. True freshman George Bullock is a talented kicker with a cannon leg. If he can step on campus and provide some boom in the kicking and/or punting game, that will help the Vols win the field position game and gain some consistency on field goals, which hasnt been present since Britton Colquitt and James Wilhoit were filling the roles.
Although there are shortcomings in the kicking game, the returns should be the best theyve been in years. In the spring game, Devrin Young and Marlin Lane combined for 163 kick return yards, showing how explosive the return game can be. Devrin Young provided a sampling last season of his talent. Cordarrelle Patterson is an exceptional kick returner too.
Georgia and South Carolina are the teams to beat in the SEC East, but after that, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida, and Vanderbilt are all battling for positioning. Tennessee is at least on par with these programs, but in my opinion, they are the number three team in the East, and with a lucky win against Georgia or South Carolina, or maybe a huge victory over Alabama, the Vols can prove to be amongst the top teams in the SEC overall. The time for excuses is gone, and the Vols better do it now or Dooley will have to enjoy his severance pay.
