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Tennessee’s new offensive line makes improvements in first game
By Jason Hall
Published:
Tennessee’s offensive line faced questions about inexperience entering the season. The Vols hadn’t returned a single player with prior starting experience and started Jashon Robertson, the first true freshman in school history to start a home opener.
Against Utah State, Tennessee’s offensive line showed enough poise to make halftime adjustments after five penalties in the first half. The Vols were flagged just once in the third quarter and zero times in the fourth.
In pass protection, Tennessee was stellar, allowing just two sacks and two quarterback hurries. Quarterback Justin Worley had enough time in the pocket to connect with 11 different receivers and throw for 273 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-38 passing.
Run blocking was far less successful as Tennessee averaged just 2.8 yards per carry and totaled 110 yards on 39 attempts. However, the rushing attack looked stronger late into the game with Marlin Lane finding the end zone on a seven-yard score. Moving forward, the line must do a better job at opening holes for running backs. Lane and freshman Jalen Hurd ran well, but needed more gaps to break long runs.
The biggest hurdle for Tennessee’s offensive line will be moving forward without its starting left tackle. Jacob Gilliam suffered a torn ACL injury and will miss the remainder of the season. Brett Kendrick, Dontavius Blair and Coleman Thomas will compete for the starting job at left tackle in Gilliam’s absence.
The inexperienced line started slow in some areas, but made the necessary adjustments to help Tennessee take a convincing 38-7 victory over Utah State. A successful performance against a solid Aggies front seven should prove to be a good learning experience for the group and boost confidence moving forward.
The Tennessee line will have its hands full against Arkansas State on Saturday. The Red Wolves are coming off a 37-10 win over Montana State in which the defense accounted for four sacks and nine tackles for loss. The Vols linemen will have to counter a tough pass rush with similar success from Sunday’s win and create more space for the rushing attack to flourish.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
