Tim Tebow: SEC East better watch out for Josh Heupel, Tennessee

Tennessee continues to improve in year one of the Josh Heupel era, and ESPN analyst Tim Tebow believes Heupel has the Volunteers trending upwards.

In fact, Tennessee, which has an opportunity to snap a 38-game losing streak against top-10 teams that dates back to 2006 against Georgia, could be a team to beat in the SEC East moving forward. At least, that’s what Tebow thinks.

“This isn’t a knock for Tennessee, but Heupel is doing this without most of their best players from last year,” Tebow said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “Henry To’o To’o left to go to Alabama and a bunch of players left to go to other places. They’re everywhere. And they’re still having a lot of success. When he gets in some more three, four, five-stars here? Man, I think it’s watch out, especially in the SEC East. I think you’re going to have something special here in Tennessee.”

Tebow went on to sing high praise for Tennessee today against Georgia. Though he didn’t quite pick Tennessee in an upset win, he did say that he believes the Volunteers have a chance.

“In [Tennessee’s] formations and in their plays, it all looks the same. So, if you’re a defense, when you’re evaluating it, you’re thinking, ‘OK, I’m seeing a receiver screen,’ and then off of it is a screen and go. Or off of it is a screen and a pump,” Tebow said, explaining how Heupel’s offense is hard to read. “Everything plays off of one another, so if you’re a defense … you just can’t really [read the plays] against Heupel.”

Tebow explains how Tennessee can upset top-ranked Georgia

When the Tennessee Volunteers play host to the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, both programs will be looking to rewrite history.

Georgia, which clinched the top spot in the SEC East two weeks ago, will look to complete its first undefeated SEC regular season since 1982, as the Bulldogs finish the season with two consecutive nonconference games (against Charleston Southern and at Georgia Tech). Tennessee, on the other hand, will look to upend the heavily-favored Georgia Bulldogs; in the process, Tennessee has an opportunity to snap a 38-game losing streak against top-10 teams that dates back to 2006.

Tim Tebow wouldn’t necessarily pick Tennessee to win outright, but the quarterback-turned-ESPN analyst sees a path for the 5-4 Volunteers.

“If the offensive line for Tennessee can hold up — not win, but hold up — against the front four, really the front seven against Georgia, Tennessee has a chance in this game,” Tebow said Friday on The Paul Finebaum Show.

Slowing Georgia’s top-ranked defensive attack is no easy task, though. The Bulldogs have allowed just five offensive touchdowns all year, and opposing offenses manage just 231.8 total yards per game. But Tebow doesn’t think Tennessee needs to win the trench battle against a stiff Georgia defensive front; instead, the Volunteers just need to hold their own against a unit that’s turned in 28 sacks for 194 yards lost.

“You have to be able to give Hendon Hooker time,” Tebow said. “You’ve got to be able to at least sustain somewhat of a running game because it sets up so much for Tennessee. But that’s where you just think: if a few of those linemen would’ve stayed, now what could Tennessee really be? I’ll tell you what — if you’re a skilled playmaker as a senior in high school, you have to look at Tennessee as a real option with what they’re doing and the position that Heupel puts his players in.”

Hendon Hooker has been Tennessee’s saving grace in 2021, and Tebow acknowledged what the Virginia Tech transfer can produce on offense — provided that his offensive line buys him enough time. The Volunteers originally rolled out Joe Milton, a Michigan transfer, under center, but Hooker has been dominant since taking over as the starting quarterback in September. Just last week, in a 45-42 win over Kentucky, Hooker went 15-of-20 for 316 passing yards and four touchdowns, while adding 41 rushing yards.

“I honestly think [Tennessee] might be [Georgia’s] biggest test of the year,” Tebow said. “Being in a tough environment, homecoming, all of that — it honestly would be a crazy win for Tennessee. One of the biggest wins in — I mean, I don’t know how many years. It would be a huge, program-changing win, and depending what happens in the West, I think Tennessee and their style of play has a chance to potentially match up to be as hard of a game as a few of the teams that have a chance to play in the SEC Championship.”