Josh Heupel knows the importance of Tennessee's underrated run game
It’s always the big plays in the Tennessee pass game that get the attention. Like the hard-to-believe catch Squirrel White made against South Carolina Saturday night. Or the nonstop big plays Jalin Hyatt made while getting behind defenses last season.
But there’s much more to Josh Heupel’s uptempo, high-scoring offense than just chunk plays through the air. Especially this season.
Through five games, No. 22 Tennessee leads the Southeastern Conference and is fourth in the country in rushing at 231.2 yards per game. Only Air Force (329.8), Liberty (271.2) and UCF (255.2) are more potent on the ground than the Vols. The next closest SEC team to Tennessee is Auburn, which ranks 21st at 202.0 yards per game.
Josh Heupel: ‘The key to the ignition (on offense) is our run game’
Tennessee’s 6.18 yards per carry is second in the SEC, trailing only Kentucky (6.45) and sixth nationally in yards per carry. The 13 rushing touchdowns by the Vols is tied for second in the league, two off Georgia’ league-leading pace.
“At the end of the day,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said on Wednesday, “the efficiency of what we’re doing, whether we’re playing on tempo or not, is the most important thing to me and our staff and our players.
“And we’ve created a lot of explosive plays in the pass game for a long time, and sometimes people get caught up in those numbers. But the key to the ignition is our run game. And always has been and always will be. And our offensive line has done a really good job.”
Junior Jaylen Wright leads Tennessee on the ground with 61 carries for 435 yards so far this season, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. His 42-yard touchdown run against South Carolina Saturday night was his first touchdown of the season.
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Senior Jabari Small has carried 53 times for 317 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore Dylan Sampson has been electric when given the opportunity, rushing 36 times 248 yards with seven total touchdowns in his four games played.
No. 22 Tennessee vs. Texas A&M, October 14, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Tennessee ran for 287 yards and five touchdowns in the 49-13 win over Virginia to open the season on September 2 in Nashville. The Vols had 228 yards and a touchdown against Austin Peay, a season-high 303 yards and four touchdowns against UTSA two weeks ago and 238 yards and three touchdowns against South Carolina.
The low point on the ground came in the lone loss of the season, when Tennessee ran for 100 yards on 30 rushes in the 29-16 loss at Florida.
For added context, Tennessee’s passing offense ranks ninth in the SEC at 235.0 yards per game, with nine passing touchdowns against three interceptions. Only twice this season have the Vols had more passing yards than rushing yards, with 287 to 100 at Florida and 239 to 238 against South Carolina. It was a tie with 228 pass yards and 228 rush yards against Austin Peay.
“So much of the game is predicated for us on the ability to run the football,” Heupel said. “That sets up your play-action pass, opens up or changes the way the game’s played in situational football. Our offensive line, tight ends and our running backs are all playing at a really high level within the efficiency of our run game.”
