Kirk Herbstreit breaks down Tennessee's offense under Josh Heupel

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit joined the Paul Finebaum Show heading into the first official weekend of the college football season.

Breaking down what second-year head coach Josh Heupel’s brought to Tennessee, Herbstreit described what makes the Vols’ offense so effective. In 2021, the Volunteers ranked seventh in the country in scoring offense with 39.3 points per game.

“What he runs is very similar to what you saw from Jeff Lebby who used to be with Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss,” Herbstreit explained. “Jeff Lebby went with Brent Venables to Oklahoma, Lebby was with Art Briles at Baylor, and Kendal Briles was on that staff too, and now he’s at Arkansas… That system has kind of branched out.

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“They’ll put their receivers, not in your traditional formation, but way out closer to the sidelines,” Herbstreit continued. “That essentially makes the defense declare whether they’re going to pay attention to the passing game and put their numbers out on the perimeter, leaving themselves vulnerable in the running game, or they’ll put an extra hat in the box. The formation oftentimes dictates what the play call will be based on how you defend that offensive structure.”

Herbstreit: Can Tennessee slow people down?

The Tennessee offense in 2022 is led by returning quarterback Hendon Hooker and features a talented cast of playmakers, including newly eligible former USC wideout Bru McCoy. While that side of the ball is solid, the defense is still a major question mark for the former Ohio State QB.

“Heupel has figured (the scheme) out and I think he has a quarterback who understands it,” Herbstreit said to Finebaum. “And they’ve got a lot of playmakers. Jabari Small can get it done in the backfield. Cedric Tillman leads a very good group of receivers. They’re going to score. The question for me on Tennessee is, can they slow people down?”

Tennessee had the second-worst third-down defense in the SEC last season. The Vols gave up the first down on 42% of third down plays, making it glaringly obvious what improvements need to happen in 2022.

Heupel and his squad face Ball State to open the season on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Next week, they take on their first top-25 team of the season, on the road at Pittsburgh.