Our Biggest Question?

#1
VFL-82-JP

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#1
Quick: what is the Vols' biggest question as we go into the 2020 season?

If your knee-jerk response was "who's the quarterback?" I'm with you. That would be mine, too.

ESPN's Alex Scarborough seems willing to assume that question away, when he writes: "Let's suppose that ... quarterback Jarrett Guarantano turns a corner as a fifth-year senior."

No idea why he leapt past that huge unknown.

To his credit, what he honed in on instead is a very good secondary question:

25. Tennessee Volunteers
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Let's suppose that the defense continues to improve and quarterback Jarrett Guarantano turns a corner as a fifth-year senior. Trey Smith is coming back, so the offensive line should be in good shape. The running game should be as well with Eric Gray and Ty Chandler expected back. What does that leave? Pass-catchers. That's the 18-wheeler-sized hole on offense with Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway and Dominick Wood-Anderson all moving on. The trio caught 110 of the 200 passes the Vols completed last season, and outside of Josh Palmer, there's not a lot of experienced players to replace them. -- Scarborough
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Here's the full article:

Biggest 2020 question for each Top 25 team

Yep, for me it's primarily who our QB is in 2020. With the right answer there, the WR group will fill out just fine.

Go Vols!
 
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#6
#6
Feel like people have been overlooking how poor our running game has been the past 2 years. Gray's huge performances against Vandy and Indiana may have made people forget that, but IMO that's still the area we need to improve the most. Think we were next-to-last or somewhere in the bottom 3rd of SEC teams when it came to the run game.

But certainly all of our question marks are on offense in 2020. Can we find a consistent QB? Can we finally get the run game going now that the O-line has improved and Eric Gray seems to broken through? Can we find some pass catchers to replace Jennings and Callaway?

I feel very confident about our D heading into 2020, but lot of issues to address on the offense.
 
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#8
#8
I think LB is the question of next years team.Not Henry but if Q and JJ and step up and fill that other spot.
 
#9
#9
DiderotsGhost said:
Feel like people have been overlooking how poor our running game has been the past 2 years. Gray's huge performances against Vandy and Indiana may have made people forget that, but IMO that's still the area we need to improve the most. Think we were next-to-last or somewhere in the bottom 3rd of SEC teams when it came to the run game.

But certainly all of our question marks are on offense in 2020. Can we find a consistent QB? Can we finally get the run game going now that the O-line has improved and Eric Gray seems to broken through? Can we find some pass catchers to replace Jennings and Callaway?

I feel very confident about our D heading into 2020, but lot of issues to address on the offense.
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Just my personal opinion, but I think we are sorely missing what Derek Henry did for Titans this year...but then again many people are. Difference is I think we have a player of that type on our team with good OL blocking....Crouch could be that guy for us. He’s doing a great job at LB but I think he should get more touches running the ball. That being said we do have talent and if Evans comes on board, I’d say we are in good shape.
 
#10
#10
We shouldn’t have any problem running the ball next season as long as Cade Mays gets eligible. Would arguably be the best OL in the SEC
 
#12
#12
DiderotsGhost said:
Feel like people have been overlooking how poor our running game has been the past 2 years. Gray's huge performances against Vandy and Indiana may have made people forget that, but IMO that's still the area we need to improve the most. Think we were next-to-last or somewhere in the bottom 3rd of SEC teams when it came to the run game.

But certainly all of our question marks are on offense in 2020. Can we find a consistent QB? Can we finally get the run game going now that the O-line has improved and Eric Gray seems to broken through? Can we find some pass catchers to replace Jennings and Callaway?

I feel very confident about our D heading into 2020, but lot of issues to address on the offense.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. However part and parcel of our poor running game the last several years is the inability of our QB play to be consistently good. Many times no matter caliber of the teams we've faced in opposition just crowd the box and dare our QBs to beat them, Which we do on a crap shoot type basis which is why you end up getting beat by the Georgia States of the world on occasion. It's not like Indiana didn't have our number when we faltered much of the game offensively and took a very large effort and perfect special teams execution to pull out a win. We were at the minimum a two TD team better than Indiana IMO but could not get good play at the QB position and their D stacked us up at the LOS. If we had the play of Indiana's QB, fuggedabout it. He wasn't a world beater but he was a very good solid player at the QB position.
 
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#13
#13
GAVol said:
I don’t care who the QB is... #1 for me is finding a way to run the ball. We’ve been awful on the ground for 3 years.
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Agreed. In this league you have to be able to consistently run the football, gotta be able to run it when you want to and able to run it when you need to. Championship teams are able to run the ball and stop their opponents from running it.
 
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#14
#14
Can we put pressure on the QB without blitzing/stunts. Much bigger question than our QB play.
 
#15
#15
I still don’t think we have “the answer” at RB.

Gray is talented, and can break the big one, but i long for a big bodied, bruiser that reels off 5-7 a clip consistently.

A Hardesty type of guy. Our guys still feel small, and shifty. Need a different body type back to carry the load.
 
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#17
#17
Remy said:
I agree with this. However part and parcel of our poor running game the last several years is the inability of our QB play to be consistently good. Many times no matter caliber of the teams we've faced in opposition just crowd the box and dare our QBs to beat them, Which we do on a crap shoot type basis which is why you end up getting beat by the Georgia States of the world on occasion. It's not like Indiana didn't have our number when we faltered much of the game offensively and took a very large effort and perfect special teams execution to pull out a win. We were at the minimum a two TD team better than Indiana IMO but could not get good play at the QB position and their D stacked us up at the LOS. If we had the play of Indiana's QB, fuggedabout it. He wasn't a world beater but he was a very good solid player at the QB position.
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This all day! There is no significant threat from our passing game, because of the inconsistency and mundane QB play. Running the ball will be helped if and when other teams are worried we can throw a TD or 2, or more, through the air.

I’ll also add that I hope we have a dominate edge rusher, or two in 2020. GBO!
 
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#18
#18
Remy said:
I agree with this. However part and parcel of our poor running game the last several years is the inability of our QB play to be consistently good. Many times no matter caliber of the teams we've faced in opposition just crowd the box and dare our QBs to beat them, Which we do on a crap shoot type basis which is why you end up getting beat by the Georgia States of the world on occasion. It's not like Indiana didn't have our number when we faltered much of the game offensively and took a very large effort and perfect special teams execution to pull out a win. We were at the minimum a two TD team better than Indiana IMO but could not get good play at the QB position and their D stacked us up at the LOS. If we had the play of Indiana's QB, fuggedabout it. He wasn't a world beater but he was a very good solid player at the QB position.
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Vegas didn't think we were 2 TDs better and the sand never lies.
 
#20
#20
njvols said:
Just my personal opinion, but I think we are sorely missing what Derek Henry did for Titans this year...but then again many people are. Difference is I think we have a player of that type on our team with good OL blocking....Crouch could be that guy for us. He’s doing a great job at LB but I think he should get more touches running the ball. That being said we do have talent and if Evans comes on board, I’d say we are in good shape.
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That's not the bill of goods he was sold on coming here though and we'd rather not see him in the transfer portal.
 
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#22
#22
GAVol said:
The scary thing though is that we throw it a LOT better than we run it. Defenses can just sit in Nickel because they know we struggle blocking 6 man fronts and getting bodies on LBs.
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We don't throw it well at all so be afraid be very afraid
 
#24
#24
GAVol said:
I don’t care who the QB is... #1 for me is finding a way to run the ball. We’ve been awful on the ground for 3 years.
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Kinda hard to do when its 8-9 guys in the box. The way to run the ball is to get a guy who can actually back people out of the box with the pass. Over that same time frame that u say we couldnt run it JG, Dormandy, McBride, Chryst, Maurer, and Shrout were the Qbs. U add the oline we had over that span and we probably couldn't run the ball on Whitehaven High School let alone SEC defenses.
 
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