Neyland Stadium is getting ready to sway and shake again to the sounds of 'Rocky Top' from the Pride of the Southland Marching Band as the Volunteers of Tennessee are set to hit the grid iron this fall. After a 5-7 opening campaign by head coach Butch Jones, expectations rise from Vol Nation to reach a bowl game for the first time since 2010. A tough schedule will not make it easy, but Jones seems to have this ship steered in the right direction, for the first time since the Phillip Fulmer era. First, let's go over the 2013 season.
2013 Tennessee Volunteers Season
It was Butch Jones' first season in Knoxville and he nearly guided the Volunteers to a bowl game. As expected, Tennessee won against Austin Peay, Western Kentucky, and South Alabama. They went on the road to #2 Oregon and #19 Florida in back-to-back weeks and lost. In October, they lost a heart-breaker to #6 Georgia in overtime then pulled the upset over #11 South Carolina. The schedule was still unkind as they faced three more ranked opponents in a row, losing all of the games. They lost a close one to Vanderbilt and then beat Kentucky to finish 5-7. The entire schedule is below. The team showed enough talent to make them a serious contender in the coming years.
Offense
The strength of the UT offense this year will be at the skill positions. The receiving core of Jason Croom, Marquez North, Josh Malone, and Von Pearson is outstanding. The man who appears to be the starter, for now, is senior Justin Worley. Worley, who probably would have beaten Florida had he started over Nathan Peterman's 2 interception performance, struggled in the Alabama game. That Alabama performance began a game of roulette at the quarterback position in 2013. Joshua Dobbs and Riley Ferguson will compete for the opportunity to be the backup. In all, the quarterback position will be vastly improved in Butch Jones's second season.
Incoming freshman running back Jalen Hurd is a flat out stud. He hails from Hendersonville, Tennessee's Beech High School and was the number one recruit in the state. At 6' 4" and 222 lbs, Hurd is a dynamic runner with break-away speed that runs a lot like Terrell Davis and Lawrence Phillips. He is coming off a senior season that was cut drastically short by a shoulder injury suffered way back in August. Hurd is the kind of game changer that the UT offense can lean on during a brutal schedule.
The Volunteer offensive line will be the key to the 2014 season. Tennessee loses their entire starting offensive line and goes from 129 career starts from a year ago, to just 6. The good news is, the group they have coming in, is very highly touted. If they can gel in the early games, Tennessee could make some real noise in the SEC East Division. We will see how well they perform as a group early in the season on the road when they face Oklahoma on September 13.
Defense
The Vols defense was 11th in the SEC in 2013, yet vastly improved. Still, if Jones expects to take Tennessee to the next level, a leap into the upper echelon of SEC defenses is desperately needed.
Just as on offense, the defensive line is young an inexperienced. Last year, UT allowed 207 yards per game on the ground and only recorded 18 sacks in 12 games. Defensive tackles Daniel Hood, Gregory Clark, Maurice Couch, and Daniel McCullers, along with ends Corey Miller, Marlon Walls, and Jaques Smith are all gone amongst others. It will be up to defensive ends Jordan Williams, Corey Vereen, and DeWayne Hendrix to apply the pressure. Defensive tackle Owen Williams and Danny O'Brien will anchor the inside with a stock pile of inexperienced youth behind them. In a run-heavy SEC, this unit will have to grow up quickly.
Curt Maggitt and A.J. Johnson return as the heart of the defense as stand out linebackers. The experience behind them is sorely missing. Depth will be a huge question mark going forward. The talent is there, as recent recruiting classes have brought speed to this group.
In the defensive backfield, depth and experience should have UT in good shape. Six of the top eight defensive backs return and five freshman come in ranked very high in national recruiting. Brian Randolph will lead the defensive backfield at strong safety this season. If UT can put any kind of pressure on the pocket, the Vols pass defense should be in great shape.
Special Teams
Tennessee will break in two new starters on the special teams unit. Michael Palardy held both the kicking and punting duties in 2013 during his senior season. On field goals, he went 14 of 17 with a long of 51 yards. His punting gave him an average of 44.5 yards per punt with a net of 38.5. George Bullock will be the kicker, but he has not had a kick in his career. He was a highly recruited kicker out of high school. At punter will be Matt Darr. He has experience from his freshman year where he had 40 punts for an average of 38.1 yards and a net of 34.4 yards. This unit will not be as solid this year.
2014 Season Outlook
Tennessee starts off at home with two very winnable games versus Utah State and Arkansas State. The third week brings a trip to Norman, Oklahoma, which promises to be a very difficult challenge. A trip to Ole Miss and home a game versus Alabama will test the young Vols along with the normal divisional play of Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Missouri, and Vanderbilt. Here is the schedule for the Vols in 2014:
If the offensive and defensive lines can hold their own, a return to post season play will be in the cards. Look for UT to get back bowling with an 8-4 record and ending the nine year losing streak to the Florida Gators. Volunteer Nation is still probably one more year away from a real shot at the SEC Championship game, but two things are certain: 1) Butch Jones has revived this program and has it back on the right track. 2) Lane Kiffin will need more security than the President of the Untied States when he returns to Neyland Stadium as Alabama's offensive coordinator on October 25th. It will be Kiffin's first visit since he bailed to USC after just one year as head coach at UT. Circle your calendar!