Josh Heupel: Quarterbacks responsible for plenty in Tennessee's uptempo offense
An uptempo offense doesn’t put much pressure on the quarterback, according to head coach Kirby Smart. When the offense is moving fast, apparently the quarterback is just along for the ride.
Quarterbacks in Georgia’s offensive system, as he described, are true quarterbacks.
“It’s like, a true quarterback is a decision-maker in our system,” Smart said recently, “because some systems take all the pressure off the quarterback and they just go really fast. We don’t do that. We’re a quarterback-driven offense, so can you process the information.
“That means get the signal, get people lined up then see what the defense is in and figure out are we in the right situation?”
Josh Heupel: No one in college football ‘puts more on their quarterbacks’ than Vols
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel, who runs one of the fastest and most productive offenses in college football, disagrees. He said so himself on Thursday after Tennessee’s scrimmage at Neyland Stadium, where he was asked about the progress being made by redshirt senior Joe Milton III.
“Our guys control everything,” Heupel said. “I don’t think there’s anyone in America that puts more on their quarterbacks — running run checks, run pass checks, loaded boxes, alerts, kills — they’ve got to do it all. (Milton is) highly instrumental in the efficiency and effectiveness of our run game.”
Tennessee last season, on its way to 11 wins in Year 2 under Heupel, had the highest scoring offense in the country, averaging 46.1 points per game. The Vols were fifth in passing offense, averaging 326.1 yards per game with 38 touchdowns, and were 26th in rushing, averaging 199.46 yards per game and scoring 40 times on the ground.
Hendon Hooker continues to climb NFL Draft boards and could end up being a first-round pick later this month after running Heupel’s offense at Tennessee the last two seasons.
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Hooker, who tore his ACL in November, passed for 6,080 yards, 58 touchdowns and just five interceptions in 24 games with the Vols. He completed 68.8 percent of his 632 pass attempts with the Vols.
Up Next: Tennessee’s Orange & White Game, April 15, 2:30 p.m. ET, Neyland Stadium
In 11 games last season, Hooker completed 69.6 percent of his passes, throwing for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns and two interceptions.
“I’m not sure anybody in college football has more on their plate than Hendon does,” Heupel said after Tennessee’s Pro Day on March 30. “Then you throw in the tempo that we play at. You’ve got to be a quick decision maker, you’ve got to recognize defensive structure extremely quickly.
“He controls some of our run game. He controls the RPO (run-pass option) game, making a decision out of that every snap. He’s got loaded-box checks, he’s got alerts, he’s got kills. He controlled the entire game on every single play. And I think that puts him in a great position to be able to transition to the next level, handle all that is coming at him and be able to handle it at a really high level.”
