The most startling aspect of a poor performance on offense by the Volunteers in last week's season-opening overtime win against Appalachian State was the play up front, and the line will need to be much improved for Tennessee to knock off Virginia Tech in the "Battle at Bristol" on Saturday night.
On Wednesday, offensive coordinator Mike DeBord indicated the line was inconsistent during preseason practice, and those problems spilled over into the season opener.
"It seems like we'll go out and have a really good practice and guys will execute well, then we have one where we don't do as well," DeBord said. "We've been inconsistent that way. We've just got to become a consistent offensive unit. I know our guys are working at it. I know our offensive line was disappointed in the way they played this past week, and we've got really good character kids up there and they're going to do everything in their power to improve that."
The inability to open up running lanes or protect quarterback Josh Dobbs hamstrung the rest of the offense. Tennessee played behind the chains due to struggles on first down and faced an average of more than 8 yards to go on 16 third downs. The Vols had opportunities to make plays to open receivers downfield, but protection breakdowns ruined them.
Entering the season, concerns centered around tackles Drew Richmond and Brett Kendrick, but the struggles of center Coleman Thomas and guards Dylan Wiesman and Jashon Robertson against the Mountaineers were unexpected. In addition to losing one-on-one matchups, the line's physicality was not good enough.
"We need to become tougher that way," DeBord said.
Some reports after the game indicated Thomas was dealing with an ankle injury, but on Wednesday, Tennessee coach Butch Jones downplayed that and said Thomas had returned to full strength.
Jones said the offensive line has stepped up to meet the coaching staff's challenges this week.
