Offensive line has always been the long-term question surrounding Tennessee football under Josh Heupel. The Vols have yet to start a player up front Heupel signed out of high school even though he’s entering his fifth year with the program. He will have to start at least two such players this year.
That was one test. The other was replacing the entire interior offensive line with center Cooper Mays gone along with guards Javontez Spraggins and Andrej Karic. Sure, he’s likely to start a true freshman at right tackle in David Sanders Jr., but Sanders is likely a generational talent, Lance Heard is returning at left tackle and tackle is not as hard to pick up in this offense.
Interior blocking, however, is crucial given Heupel’s run concepts. He tried to offset the number of guys he signed out of high school starting up front by adding Notre Dame Fighting Irish transfer Sam Pendleton and Arizona Wildcats transfer Wendell Moe Jr. in the offseason.
However, early signs suggest there are still major issues with the unit.
In the first scrimmage of fall camp for Tennessee football, Pendleton and William Satterwhite split reps at center. Obviously, you want multiple players who can play that position and fill the void left by Mays, but with a quarterback competition happening, you’d like your starting center to already be settled in.
No clear starter named yet means Heupel and Glen Elarbee are having an issue finding one.
It’s no secret the value Mays provided to the program the past three years. His absence is the sole reason the Vols lost to the Florida Gators on the road in 2023. With him and the other veteran interior linemen, Dylan Sampson was able to break the school record for rushing yards and touchdowns in a single season last year.
What happenes if Heupel can’t offset those three guys? Well, then the running game becomes nonexistent, and he’s got to return to airing it out like he did in 2022. The problem is with teams committed to a 3-3-5 to slow him down, his offense can’t generate anything without a good ground game.
See the problem? While the Vols may be having to develop interior offensive linemen in real-time early in the regular season, their offense may have an impossible time trying to generate any yards without the players in place. Not already having a center is a big concern as a result.
Ideally, Satterwhite would start at center with Pendleton and Moe as the guards. Jesse Perry and Max Anderson are options on the interior as well, but with no emergences yet, Joey Halzle could have a difficult time getting his scheme in place. It’s only the first scrimmage, to be fair, but Tennessee football has to address this issue in a hurry.
