Tennessee will release their depth chart this week as the Vols begin game week. If UT coach Josh Heupel had his way, he’d probably release it just before the season-opening game against Chattanooga on Saturday.
Why? Well, Heupel likes being covert and, perhaps, misleading at times when it comes to his roster. Frankly, who could blame him? The Vols surely have some unknown (at least to their opponents) players on their roster that could impact a game with the element of surprise on their side. That makes the game against the Mocs interesting.
On one hand, Heupel could keep the same look on offense that he’s showcased in his previous three seasons at Tennessee, which is primarily based on a combination of three receivers, a tailback and a tight end.
The Vols have stuck with just three receivers throughout a drive and have been forced to do the same throughout games because, well, the Vols only had about three receivers that could play at a high level since Heupel arrived following the 2020 season. That may not be the case this season. While there won’t likely be substitutions during drives since that could slow down the Vols’ offense, in-game substitutions at receiver could become the norm. Maybe.
There are all kinds of reasons to think that the Vols could employ a different receiver rotation this season. First, the Vols have more, competent receivers on this year’s squad than ever before under Heupel. Second, Tennessee has a room full of unproven tight ends, who have had a fantastic camp, but their lack of experience makes one wonder if the Vols could play more four-receiver sets this fall. Wait, there’s yet another reason that Heupel and company will play more receivers this fall. They’re planning on playing for a national championship.
“I think the first thing I’ll say is that the new season (with the expanded CFP Playoffs) which you’re anticipating playing in, is a completely different animal,” Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said. “You got to play more guys, you gotta play guys to keep them healthy.”
If Tennessee plays for a national championship, they could play in 17 games this season, although that seems unlikely. If the Vols were to play in the SEC Championship Game and win it, they’d likely receive a bye in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. Still, Halzle’s point is well founded.
“Just 17 weeks is a lot of weeks to play football,” Halzle said. “So like I said from the beginning, our young guys (are) really good players. We feel great about them. Our guys that have been around the building, we’ve got a great unit like old and young that can all go sub in. We got multiple guys that are playing inside, outside, left side, right side.
“So with that we have a lot of depth that we can move guys around and get the right bodies in the right position. One for play-specific stuff, but two when the inevitable football (injury) happens and someone has to step up, feel like we do have a good opportunity to maintain the level that we need to maintain.”
Halzle said the Vols haven’t scripted substitution patterns for receivers in the past, but wouldn’t rule it out this season considering how many promising receivers Tennessee has on its roster.
“It hasn’t been a thing we’ve done in the past,” Halze said. “Doesn’t mean that we couldn’t…You could script it, but it’s mostly just being intentional. Like this guy gets this many and then he’s out, this guy gets this many and he’s out and then the next one’s in and you rotate like that.”
That’s a lot to keep track of. And a good problem to have.
