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JD PicKell: Tennessee's schedule could make things tough in 2022

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•07/28/22•

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(Photo courtesy of Marvin Gentry/Getty Images)

Year One of the Josh Heupel era went pretty well for Tennessee. The Volunteers went 6-7 to appear in the Music City Bowl one year after a 3-7 campaign in 2020 and Hendon Hooker emerged as a potential star at quarterback after transferring from Virginia Tech.

But even though Hooker could have a bigger year in 2022, Year Two won’t be easy for Tennessee, according to J.D. PicKell. The big issue, he said, is the schedule.

The Volunteers have to play reigning national champion Georgia on the road, reigning ACC champion Pittsburgh on the road and welcome Alabama to Neyland Stadium. That’s in addition to road matchups with South Carolina and LSU. PicKell said that won’t be easy, even though fans are understandably excited.

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“My diagnosis for Tennessee is a little bit complex,” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “There’s a lot of reason for excitement. … Hendon Hooker is one of the most exciting quarterbacks coming back not just in the SEC, but in the country. So much talent. Threw 31 touchdowns a year ago to only three interceptions. That’s a really, really efficient job taking care of the football. But the schedule for Tennessee is brutal, especially the road schedule. You’ve got at LSU, at Georgia, at South Carolina. And oh, by the way, you still have to play Alabama, still have to play Florida. It’s the gauntlet for Tennessee.

“So winning more than seven games is not an unfair ask, but just understand winning seven games at Tennessee looks a lot different than winning seven games in another conference, let’s say the Pac-12 or the ACC. And that’s not a knock on those conferences. You just have to understand the set of circumstances that Tennessee is playing with. They have so much talent on this team, they have so much under the hood. But progress could look like eight wins, even if they’re worlds better in terms of their system and processes and culture and efficiency. It still could be eight wins because of how difficult the road is for Tennessee.”