Better or worse? Previewing Tennessee's offense in 2020
Editor’s note: This is the 6th in a series previewing every SEC East team’s offense. Next: Vanderbilt.
I recently was on Twitter and saw some clips of Tennessee’s offense in the 1990s. Whether it was Andy Kelly throwing deep to Carl Pickens or Jay Graham sprinting past opposing defenses or Peyton Manning zipping passes to Joey Kent … there was an insane collection of talent on display during the Decade of Dominance. Heck, I could write a series of books about the firepower Vols fans got to see every Saturday.
But like Mark McGwire, I’m not here to talk about the past. It’s time to look to the Fall, when Tennessee hopes to take a step forward on that side of the football. In 2019 the Vols’ offense was mediocre for much of the year but showed some flashes that, in time, this could be a pretty good group. There is finally some consistency on the coaching staff, with offensive coordinator Jim Chaney back for his second year (in his second tour of duty at Tennessee).
Will it be better than 2019?
Let’s take an early look at what Vols fans should expect come September.
Key losses: WR Jauan Jennings, WR Marquez Callaway, WR Tyler Byrd, TE Dominick Wood-Anderson, RB Tim Jordan
Key returnees: QB Jarrett Guarantano, QB Brian Maurer, WR Josh Palmer, WR Brandon Johnson, WR Deangelo Gibbs, WR Ramel Keyton, RB Eric Gray, RB Ty Chandler, TE Austin Pope, OL Trey Smith, OL Wanya Morris, OL Darnell Wright, OL Brandon Kennedy
Key newcomers: OL Cade Mays, WR Jalin Hyatt, WR Velus Jones, Jr., WR Dee Beckwith, WR Malachi Wideman
Passing Offense: Even
Tennessee’s passing game made strides in 2019. For the second consecutive year, Vols QBs combined for more yards and more TDs than the previous season.
I’d like to say that the passing game will be even better in 2020, but losing Jennings and Callaway is significant. They combined for 89 catches for 1,426 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2019. They were also team leaders and safety valves for whoever was taking the snaps. This isn’t even taking into account the departure of tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson, who had 21 catches last season.
There is so much uncertainty at quarterback, as there has been since Joshua Dobbs walked off the field at the 2016 Music City Bowl. Jarrett Guarantano is back for his 5th and final season, but can any Vols fan be confident that this is finally the year his lives up to the hype? At times he looks confident and ready to command the offense, hitting receivers when open. Other times … he doesn’t.
If past is prologue, maybe 2009 gives Tennessee reason for optimism at that position. Jonathan Crompton hadn’t achieved big things in his first 4 years in Knoxville, but a switch flipped a few weeks into his 5th season and he eventually was an NFL Draft pick the following April. Crompton’s development was Lane Kiffin’s biggest accomplishment at UT. Ideally, Guarantano follows a similar trajectory.
Should he falter, Brian Maurer looks to be the backup to start the season, with J.T. Shrout and incoming freshman Harrison Bailey in reserve.
There is good news. An experienced offensive line is in play to give the quarterback time to throw, but more on those guys in a moment.
Josh Palmer, who had 34 catches last season, moves into the No. 1 receiver role. After that it’s a bunch of unknowns. Ramel Keyton is a big-play threat. Newcomers Dee Beckwith, Jalin Hyatt and Malachi Wideman will get their chances. Deangelo Gibbs, the former Georgia transfer, will finally suit up for Tennessee in September. Southern Cal grad transfer Velus Jones Jr. is also in the mix. But none of those guys are guaranteed success stories waiting to happen in 2020. Austin Pope only had 4 catches a year ago at tight end, but he should get more chances with Wood-Anderson now with the Seattle Seahawks.
Running Game: Better
The Vols haven’t topped 2,000 yards rushing or 15 rushing TDs in a season since 2016, when the ground game produced 2,668 yards and 31 TDs. But, just as with the passing game, the running game improved in 2019. There is genuine optimism heading into this season.
The Vols will try to spread out the carries, and they have some guys that can carry the load if need be. Ty Chandler led the Vols with 655 yards last season. (Tim Jordan picked up 428 yards a year ago but was dismissed after an offseason arrest.)
But you get the feeling that head coach Jeremy Pruitt, offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and running backs coach Jay Graham would love to see rising sophomore Eric Gray take over as the go-to option. Gray had 539 rushing yards on only 101 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per attempt. His breakout performance against Vanderbilt (246 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns) and MVP showing in the Gator Bowl win (86 rushing yards, 1 touchdown) showed that he has the potential to do big things at Tennessee.
The other bonus is that Gray will have a talented and experienced offensive line to open holes for him. Wanya Morris, Darnell Wright and Trey Smith are all future NFL Draft picks. Brandon Kennedy was given a 6th year by the NCAA. And things got even better when Cade Mays transferred home to Knoxville from Georgia. The NCAA has yet to announce whether he is eligible to play this Fall, but Tennessee feels confident that will get done.
With a passing game you can’t totally count on, the Vols are fortunate to have a solid running attack.
Kicking Game: Better
Last season was a banner year for Brent Cimaglia. He made 23-of-27 field goals, plus all 69 of his extra-point attempts. Among SEC kickers, only Georgia’s Rodrigo Blankenship made more field goals, and nobody with at least 20 attempts converted at a higher rate.
Barring injury, Cimaglia will leave Tennessee in the top 10 all-time in points scored. He is as close to a sure thing as you can get at football’s most unpredictable position.
As for the return game, the kickoff returns are decreasing in importance by the year in college football, but Ty Chandler and Velus Jones, Jr. are solid options. In the punt return game, Callaway will be missed, but Gray should be the No. 1 choice.
Overall: Better
There are question marks (aren’t there always?), but the Tennessee offense should be better in 2020 than they were in 2019, when they finished 11th in the SEC in scoring (24.2 points per game). Keep in mind, they finished 13th in 2018 (22.8) and dead last in 2017 (19.8).
So they are trending the right way.
The 2020 Vols have more experience because they were forced to start freshmen a year ago. They are deeper than they have been in recent years as well. Yes, there is reason for optimism on Rocky Top.
I hear GA State offense is supposed to be better this year too. Would be a very competitive rematch.
With other games possibly cancelling, Tennessee may want to go best out of three with GA State?
UGARMYRet, it isn’t exactly the same, by here is a little history about losing to a small conference team one year and then improving the next.
I was an acquaintance with Pepper Rodgers. When he was coaching Memphis in the USFL, he came to Nashville for a lunch and press conference with the Nashville media, hoping to drum up support for the Showboats.
One of the things he brought up was when he was at Kansas and had Bobby Douglas at QB and John Riggins at FB, his career started off poorly. They lost to Stanford and Indiana, and the fans were already putting him on a hot seat. Then, in game 3, they lost to Ohio University, a team that would lose to Dayton a few weeks later.
At 0-3, they were ready to teach Pepper what Bloody Kansas meant in the 1960’s. Kansas turned things around and finished 5-2 to end up 5-5. Then, the next year, Kansas won the Big 8 and went to the Orange Bowl, where they had 10-0 Penn State beaten until they ended up with 12 men on the field.
After winning the Big 8, Rodgers was still being blamed for losing to Ohio in 1967, and it went on for two years. When Tommy Prothro took the LA Rams job, Rodgers got out of Lawrence and went to UCLA.
Good example, but remember you are dealing with a troll, and not a very bright one, at that.
From what I read from Snapshot and other UT fans, they really do not want to play with GA State again. I don’t blame them, another loss would be really hard to explain.
40 years and counting ugarmyret, 40 L-O-N-G years….
Hey remember that time way back in 2019 which is only one year ago that Georgia beat 10rc 43-14 on the reVOLts own field? Yea great times. Hey remember the last time they beat Bama? Hey remember back when the reVOLts did not have just how long ago another team won a national championship to talk about? Yea great times.
What’s really a long time is since UT scored a point in their Rose Bowl games. 0 points in two tries. Maybe, just maybe, later this century, you will get another chance.
Are you really that desperate to reach back to 1945 for the last time Tennessee played in a Rose Bowl? And they’ve only played in two, ever. You know, the number of championships Georgia has claimed since they started playing in 1891.
What was the score last year when you played the Dawgs at home? Last time you beat anyone of importance really?
Well, Georgia has also “only played in two” but unlike UT, UGA has scored enough points to be 2-0 in Pasadena.
Saban, I was watching the UGA-UT game from 2019 and the announcers did happen to mention that UT has not beaten a top 10 team since………………..2006.
Kind of like South Carolina and GA. Cocks kicked Dawgs’ asses. Why can’t Kirby Richt win the big ones? Worst record in sports with best talent.
BTW GA’s winning streak way behind Vols right now.
You forgot to say PRESENT winning streak! lol…What is the steak against Bama by the way? Maybe when you get rid of JonesPruitt!
Hey – Y’all remember Eric Stokes puttin’ that hit on Maurer last year?
Remember Georgia winning their last national title?
Neither do I!
1998 is ancient history too.
GATech’s championship is more recent than UGA’s
Hmm, 1998 or 1980…I’d avoid that as my comeback, if I was a Georgia fan. I’d also suffer from deep depression if I were a Georgia fan after barking like a dog at games and always falling short.
Oskie, good point, an even better point is UT’s program has a lot more in common with Ga Tech than it does with Georgia.
Yes-both programs have fans still alive under 50 that witnessed a national championship team
I bet you remember that time in 2019 that they beat the Vols 43-14 IN Knoxville right though?
Bet you remember the Hail Mary to Jennings between the hedges.
Why would I care about the Jennings thing but you live in the past. Cause the present is pretty murky for the 10rc Creamsicles.
Vols’ fans have a lot to be excited about. Coach Pruitt is the right man for that job. Tennessee is improving slowly but surely, the way a program should develop if it wants to sustain its success.
Having two B to B+ QBs this year may be better than having one A and one C, because if the 1st stringer goes into quarantine, it’s better to have a second stringer that is about the same rather than have a major drop-off. This could be the first year where platooning players at multiple positions is necessary, and that might hamper Tennessee’s chances a little, since they are a year or so away from being really deep.
In a normal year, I would be expecting Tennessee’s offense to improve simply because the defense would be so much better that the offense would get an extra 5-10 plays per game.
Having a back that forces more than one defender to bring him down will make the new receivers better than they would normally be. If they can run the inside zone over and over to force more defenders into the box, any average QB and WR group will be able to succeed.
Sad puppy fans acting like they have accomplished something other than winning at recruiting. Trolling other team sites yet can’t beat Bama, can’t hang with LSU and oh yea…. Cocks even popped them last year. In other words, y’all not done sh** yet !
They have ‘accomplished something’ other than recruiting.
– 14-6 against Tn since 2000
– 3-1 against Tn under CKS w/ an avg margin of victory of 32 pts
– recently taken over the series rivalry win total
In other words, uga’s ‘accomplished’ that the uga/tn rivalry is very one-sided at the moment.
They may agree with us that beating Tennessee is not so big any more.
Need pointers on how to beat SC?
I work for GA State. Do you need any pointers?
Dawg Fragility-a book by Phillip Fulmer
Dawg fragility. Lots of that on SDS.
Luckily we don’t have much fragility when the formerly Big Orange comes to town or we take over your house.
Not fragile yet you’re here posting daily.
The idea that the passing game will be even after losing Jennings and Callaway with no experienced, talented pass catchers behind them is just silly.
The running game will be improved and very good. But it won’t matter against better defenses (Alabama, Florida, Georgia) because the lack of experienced receivers in the passing game will allow the better defenses to load the box.
What defenses do, or the fact a defense will actually be on the field is a non-factor on 2020 offense. I’ve been told all these better-or-worse write ups are created with the “in a vacuum” theory, which basically means… last year was 2019, so therefore this year they will be better overall. Take them for what they’re worth I guess.
The handicap to these articles is that they’ve been written by someone with a direct association to the university/team. The majority of successful beat writers, bloggers, authors, etc. that have a following for a specific team typically have an optimistic take, or at least carry a majority prevailing opinion. That said, the majority of fans want to believe that their team will be better heading into a new football season, hence they’ll have a “half-full” opinion and potentially grasp at perspectives that an objective fan of their team may not have.
These writers have removed themselves from an objective take and exploited the optimism of their team’s fan base.
I think you nailed it, they’ve all been basically fan posts. I mean you really have to take a deeper dive, actually work realistic projections to accurately determine a better-or-worse 2020 scenario’s. It would be a little more work but would be nice if they could do that instead. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for Mizzou to play GA, Fla and TN without their defense on the field, but that probability is zero, thus rendering many of these vacuum scenario’s into having a high probability of false expectations for many fan bases.
Losing Calloway and Jennings is going to be tough to replace, however there is some experience and plenty of talent.
Palmer has been a very reliable player the last two years, but we don’t know how he handles being the number 1 guy.
Keaton has the physical tools to make the plays Callloway made, but right now he is pretty much just potential.
The real determining factor is going to be quarterback play. If we get consistency at that position then I think the offense jumps from 11 in conference scoring into the 6-8 range. Combine that with what should be a solid defense and I think we get an 8-4 or potentially a 9-3 if we can pull off an upset.
Even though we lost our top 2 WRs who where outstanding, I feel like we are deeper at the position than we have been in a long time.
B Johnson redshirted last season but 2 seasons ago led the team in receiving. Palmer a great WR. Gibbs redshirted last season due to a transfer but reports from him being on scout team are that he is a great WR.
One improvement from last season is that we have more speed at WR with Hyatt and Keyton. Also brought in a great FR WR recruiting class.
We will definitely have more speed, but I don’t know if we have the same jump ball ability. Callaway and Jennings were two of the best in the league on those type of passes. I think the hardest thing to replace will be the effort that Jennings played with. That being said, if the quarterback play is better then the passing offense will be better.
I’ll take talent over experience, and they have talent at WR.
“no experienced, talented pass catchers behind them”, really? Josh Palmer, senior returning starter, Brandon Johnson, rs senior returns, Ramel Keyton returning 4 star player, Velus Jones 4 star senior transfer from USC, Deangelo Gibbs 4/5 star transfer…get the point? Plus some elite WR freshman coming in. They’ll be fine at WR.
My bad, I made a list before I saw your reply. But maybe posting two lists will help a Florida fan piece together how to read. ;)
No experience? Josh Palmer and Brandon Johnson are seniors and have been playing plenty. Ramel Keyton had a couple of huge catches last season as a freshman. Cedric Tillman has played plenty of downs. Velus Jones Jr. is a senior transfer from USC. Deangelo Gibbs will be playing WR after sitting out a season due to transferring from Georgia, so he has SEC experience. On top of that, three freshmen coming in ready to contribute early on. The one I’m looking forward to most is Hyatt, who was electronically timed with a 4.3 40.
I think what we see from the offense this year is a little more of a ground and pound style with a more play action passing game. If the o line is as good as their recruiting grades say they should be, then that will be the strength of the program.
Tennessee’s O-line should be fantastic, Wisconsinesque.
agree with vols98. regardless whether they’re as good as their recruiting grades, I’m expecting Chaney and Pruitt to run that style of offense
Vols should be better all around. No matter how many dumb dog comments about what happened last season or tge year before they won’t impact this years game. So the doggies took advantage of sone of the worst TN teams in history to finally pull a game ahead in the series. Congratulations if that floats your boat. We are coming, sooner than later. Enjoy while you can but be prepared for your own problems this season.
Not white or black fragility but Dawg Fragility-the only one that can be empirically proven
45-the youngest possible age of doggies who personally witnessed their team win a natty.
Eric Gray will be tough this year if they give him the keys but without Jennings and Calloway the passing game might go down.
Controversial take, UT can keep every player but will have a worse offense without Jennings and Callaway
So SC hopes after getting whipped up on last season.
If regular season stands,TENNESSEE 10-2,With losses to Oklahoma and Alabama.If it’s a SEC schedule,TENNESSEE,9-1 loss to Alabama.
GO TENNESSEE
LOL.
Georgia fans sure post a lot of ‘convince themselves everything is OK’ comments for a group of fans supposedly happy with their team and ‘dominance’.
No, I was just admiring Diadd’s confidence. I like humor.
Be ready,Vols are coming.
Go Tennessee
Remember when Joe Burrow sucked? Not any more. Guarantano could have a Joe Burrow year, or some semblance to it. Never know. Guarantano has had a zillion OCs and the worst O line ever. Not any more. Plus he had tiny running backs that Botch Jones loved. Not any more. Now if SEC just plays…..
Quite the spirited comment section. I agree that Tennessee overall should be better. Chaney will likely find a way to compensate for the loss of top-end WR talent and that OL will help with both the passing and running games. Pruitt is an excellent defensive coach, so safe to say defense will be good. Now, is Tennessee ready to go toe-to-toe with it’s top rivals? I’m inclined to think they’re still a season or two away. But I also wouldn’t be surprised to see an upset of a highly ranked rival either.