Georgia Opponent Offseason Q&A: Tennessee Volunteers
We’re taking another look at Georgia’s schedule for 2023. The Bulldogs play nine game against Power Five competition: eight in the SEC plus Georgia Tech. We’re on to our final week looking at the schedule, continuing with what’s probably Georgia’s toughest game of the year: the Tennessee Volunteers.
For more on the Vols, be sure to head on over to our On3 Tennessee site, Volquest, and the great work that the guys over there do. Special thanks to Grant Ramey for the help here.
Also, we’ve got a DawgsHQ deep dive into each of Georgia’s opponents for 2023. Here’s the earlier offseason overview on Tennessee. And for access to all of the offseason overviews plus the previous Q&As, click here.
Q: The Vols are replacing Heisman hopeful Hendon Hooker at quarterback after an outstanding season in 2022. What would you consider to be the expectation/a successful season for Joe Milton as he takes on the starter’s role in 2023?
A: I think success for Joe Milton as Tennessee’s starting quarterback will be a guy that keep the train on the tracks. The Vols found lightning in a bottle with Hendon Hooker and he’s going to be impossible to replace. But Josh Heupel just needs Milton to be as close as he can to Hooker. That means a guy that can run the show at the line of scrimmage, processes what he sees pre-snap, makes quick decisions after the snap and limits mistakes. Milton can throw the ball a mile. He’s got the strongest arm in college football, in my opinion. What everyone is waiting to see, and maybe the Orange Bowl was a preview, was accuracy and touch from Milton. He three three touchdowns to three difference receivers against Clemson in Miami. Two were tough throws in traffic to the back of the end zone. The other was a perfect ball to a wide open receiver running a go route. If that’s the Joe Milton we see on September 2 against Virginia, Tennessee’s offense is in good hands.
Q: It’s a common misconception that Tennessee throws it around all the time. In fact, they ran it on more than 55% of their plays last season. That being said, Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small are both back after reaching double figures in touchdowns. How helpful do you think this will be for Tennessee’s offensive attack?
A; It’s huge. And I agree with the term misconception. The view of Tennessee’s offense from the outside seems to just be the crazy speed with which it moves and the even crazier width of the wide receiver splits. But Tennessee runs the football a ton and has a lot of bodies in the backfield at the disposal this season. Wright, pound-for-pound, is the best back the Vols have, in my opinion. That’s no slight to Small; to me it just shows the depth Heupel has at the position. Dylan Sampson is back for his sophomore season after flashing as a freshman. He has elite speed and a very high ceiling. And Tennessee is really high on freshman Cameron Seldon, a really good athlete who spent the spring at running back. The Vols will want to get the ball in his hands in space when his time comes. Freshman DeSean Bishop had a good spring, too. Long story short, yes, Tennessee runs it more than it gets credit for. And the Vols have the backs to do it again this season. And it could be a really big benefit given the change and the unknown at quarterback.
Q: Out are Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman and in come Bru McCoy, Ramel Keyton and Squirrel White as the names to know at wide receiver for the Vols. What kind of skillset do they bring to the table, and are there any others we should be watching for?
A: You can’t really understate losing guys like Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, two guys that combined for north of 3,000 yards and 30-plus touchdowns over the first two seasons of the Josh Heupel era. But Tennessee does feel good about its options at receiver moving forward. Bru McCoy has a lot of experience and is just a tough possession receiver, the most physical wideout on roster. He made big catches last year — he made the jumping, contested catch that set up the game-winning field goal in the closing seconds against Alabama — and played through injury while doing so. Now he’s healthy and should play an even bigger role. Ramel Keyton is the savvy veteran who had waited his turn and started making some big plays last season. That should continue in 2023. Squirrel White is listed at 5-foot-10, 165 pounds but is crazy fast — he turned heads with some highlight plays in mop-up duty last season, catching long balls from Milton — and had nine catches for 108 yards and a touchdown in the Orange Bowl when he was playing in place of Hyatt. Another name to watch: Dont’e Thornton. He was Tennessee’s highest ranked transfer addition of the offseason, coming from Oregon. He’s listed at 6-5, 205 and has speed that’s just as impressive as his build. Can play the slot or on the outside, so Heupel’s offense will certainly find ways to use him in a big way.
Q: Tennessee seems to lose several veteran leaders on the defensive side of the ball. Who should we be watching for, and are you expecting an improvement from a unit that was in the bottom four of the SEC for total defense?
A: I think there should be improvement on the defensive side of the ball just because Tennessee has more bodies, as simple as that sounds. Attrition in the NCAA Transfer Portal killed the Vols when Jeremy Pruitt was fired in January 2021, particularly on defense. Tennessee barely had enough linebackers to make due early on under Heupel and the Vols have added some depth since then. Linebacker Aaron Beasley is a name to know, as is defensive back Doneiko Slaughter. Heupel added to the defense in the portal, too, with BYU linebacker Keenan Pili and BYU corner Gabe Jeudy-Lally. The defensive back group has a lot of different pieces, it’s just a matter of finding the best four, five or six and getting them on the field. Tyler Baron and Roman Harrison are back on the edge up front and Omari Thomas will be relied on heavily on the inside. Obviously Tennessee’s is never going to be known for its defense while Josh Heupel is the head coach. But the Vols do appear to be making strides on that side of the ball.
Q: Fill in the Blank: The biggest offseason storyline for Tennessee is (___). How do you expect to see it addressed this fall?
A; Quarterback, quarterback, quarterback. You’re not only replacing a fan favorite in Hendon Hooker — it was almost like he was built perfectly for Heupel’s offense — but you’re doing so with Joe Milton, a veteran who is built like Cam Newton and has viral arm strength. And you also just signed five-star Nico Iamaleava, the No. 1 overall player in 2023 in the On3 ratings. So you have some unknown with Milton as the starter until you can see what he does from week-to-week. And you’ll obviously have fans at some point calling for the five-star freshman backup to get his turn. Quarterback is the most important position on the field for any offense, but it’s magnified a bit more in the Heupel offense, in my opinion. Milton has been the answer when the questions have turned to quarterback, but we still don’t know what that’s going to look like week in and week out … until we see it.
Q: What would you consider to be Tennessee’s biggest strength headed into the season? Biggest weakness?
A: I think the biggest strength is just added depth on both sides of the ball. Josh Heupel inherited a depleted roster and was already running behind just because of the time of year he got hired, just a few days before the February signing day in 2021. He exceeded expectations in a big way in his first two years and now he’s been able to stack a couple recruiting classes and add some much needed talent and bodies to the roster. Quarterback is a weakness simply because of the unknown. I like Tennessee’s options at the position, but the questions remain until the product is seen on the field. And I think the secondary will be considered a weakness until we see what that group looks like on the field as well. The Vols struggled there last season. If they make improvements defensively year over year, it starts with the defensive backs.
The post Georgia Opponent Offseason Q&A: Tennessee Volunteers appeared first on On3.
