It may not be nearly as exciting, but it’s time to accept the fact that Tennessee is a running football team first and foremost. The explosive passing game that the Vols displayed last season is on the shelf – for now.
The Vols ran the ball well last season. However, their passing game was clearly the talk of college football in 2022 with former quarterback Hendon Hooker and former receiver Jalin Hyatt leading the way. Now, the Vols’ headliners are Tennessee’s tailbacks: Dylan Sampson, Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright.
“In this game, it changes from year-to-year, and sometimes week-to-week too,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “I did think that we had a chance to be a very mature, physical football team up front. The three running backs…are all playing their best football. They have the best understanding of what our schemes were. Fundamentally, they were at their best. I thought they had a chance to be a group that would do a really good job in the run game and at the line of scrimmage. People have gotten caught up in the pass game numbers at times with us and some of the explosive plays, but the bread and butter of what we do all starts with the run game.”
Indeed. That was true last season as the Vols’ running game set up those passing plays that routinely became memorable highlights. Now, the Vols’ most impactful plays are occurring on the ground. An eight-yard running play might not be as exciting as an 80-yard touchdown pass, but it’s having the same effect, which is winning football games. However, for some, that’s not enough.
It’s natural to miss the Vols’ explosive passing game last season. Granted, it was fun to watch. A ground-based offense isn’t quite that scintillating. It’s also natural to jump to conclusions and infer that the Vols’ offseason coaching changes have led to the drop off in downfield passing plays.
Tennessee lost former offensive coordinator Alex Golesh to South Florida when he was named the Bulls’ head coach. Heupel disagreed with those that saw a correlation between Golesh’s departure and the Vols leaning more on the ground game. Heupel is quick to point out that Golesh’s replacement, offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, has been with Heupel since 2006.
“The communication from up top, what we’re seeing, what we’re doing, the adjustments we make from drive to drive based on defensive structure really hasn’t changed much at all,” Heupel said.
So why has there been less efficiency and even less production from the Vols’ passing game, which ranks 11th in the SEC with 212 passing yards per game?
“There’s a few things fundamentally that (quarterback Joe Milton) did that caused a couple of passes to be a little bit off target. There were a couple of catches that we have to make. End of the day, we have to continue to grow that way. (We) do have great belief in our guys and where we can get to.”
So how close can the Vols get to where they were last season? Probably not all the way to being one of the most impressive passing offenses in the nation. However, anywhere close to that would be an improvement, especially with Alabama on the schedule this week.
