For The R3cord: Offensive line, defense are key to Tennessee taking a step

On the latest episode of For The R3cord, On3’s Shannon Terry hosted the team over at VolQuest; your home for all things related to the Tennessee Volunteers. Terry picked the brains of Vols experts Brent Hubbs and Austin Price on what the duo believes has to happen in order for Tennessee to build off of their 2022 campaign.

“Offensive line has to play well,” said Price. “You’re replacing Darnell Wright; you’re replacing Jerome Carvin. And then the defense has to take a step. You took a big step in my mind from year one to year two. In 10 of your 13 games, you allowed less than 30 points.

“Huep’s going to score points. So if you can hold your opponent to less than 30, you have a good chance to win. To me, the defense has to continue to take the next step. They gotta be better than the secondary. And then some of those young pieces that they’ve added in recruiting the last two cycles, if they take the leap this summer and in the fall camp, I think that’s where the defense gets edgier and gets better.”

All five players drafted from Tennessee in the 2023 NFL Draft were selected on either day one or day two. And of those five players, four of them were from the offensive side of the ball. The highest-drafted player for Tennessee in this year’s draft was offensive tackle Darnell Wright, who went 10th overall to the Chicago Bears.

Replacing all that offensive talent might be easier said than done. But if the Volunteers can improve on the defensive side of the ball, they might not need to be quite as dominant offensively and have one of the most potent offenses in college football in 2023.

“Can they sack the quarterback without having to bring the house, and can they be more athletic in the secondary where they can play tighter coverage, (and) play with more confidence back there? They’re gonna give up some yards; we know that. That’s part of it. They’ve got to continue to be really good on third down,” said Hubbs.

“You look at some games last year; they had opportunities to get off the field on third down in some critical situations and didn’t do that. They had some opportunities on third down last year, third long to get off the field; they’ve got to be better in those scenarios. But to me, it’s defensively take a step. They’re going to score; they’re going to score 50 points a game. They’re gonna lead the nation in scoring with this offense this year. So your defense is gonna have to take a bit of a step to help you there. That’s the key for me, is just how much more do they improve defensively in year three.”

After an impressive season like Tennessee had in 2022, the Volunteers will be on plenty of teams’ radars throughout the SEC. But that should sit well for the Volunteers and head coach Josh Heupel as the expectations for the program are now championship level. And if their defense elevates their game next season, it could be a truly special season Knoxville.