Agree with all of that.
10 SEC games will be a marathon, not a sprint. Injuries and depth will be more important than usual....for the 1st time in a decade, we have quality depth at most positions. They may be young...may even be frosh...but the guys CJP has brought in are bigger, faster, and can flat out play.
All eyes will be on the SEC this year since only 3 of the P5 conferences are playing ball this fall. The ACC is Clemson, a decent UNC, and a bunch of teams that would be Vanderbilts in our conference. The big12 is Oklahoma and a bunch of other teams that ALSO do not play defense....but that cannot score 50 a game to finish with a record worthy of playoffs from time to time. That leaves just the SEC to be front and center, the big boys league will be on full display across the country...even in markets where the Pac12 or Big10 usually broadcast weekly. Could be big for recruiting those areas...new eyeballs watching the best football players in college.
I think with 10 league games this season, it will boil down to battles in the trenches even more than a normal year..and the teams that can impose their will with the big uglies will win the most games. On paper, we have 1 of the best Olines in the country, even national media says so, but defense is a different story. We will be very young along the defensive line.. especially our subs..and it remains to be seen whether or not they will be able to line up and manhandle offenses up front. We sure hope so...but until we do it a couple times, who can say how good we actually are? Development and avoiding injuries will be the keys here behind the scenes. One good thing our Dline has going for them is a deep, talented LB room playing right behind them. Another is a deeper DB room playing right behind them. I watched a CJP clinic tape and 1 thing he said, i had never heard before "you build a great defense from the back to front." He believes that with great DB play (his position group lol) defenses are free to play aggressively and loose...knowing that they have great coverage as well as run support behind them at corner and safety. Had never, ever heard that..on fact many coaches say the exact opposite is true. Something to ponder. I do know that ,"coverage sacks " exist, also that Coach is fond of the corner blitz on the boundary side.
Oh, well. Not much longer now until ball time...I for one absolutely cannot wait.
Go Vols . HUBANegas