Why the O-line Was Awful in 2018

[FLVOL_79]

All downs passing downs which equaled terrible offense..


Interesting...


Good write up.

 

[BruisedOrange]

The One Weird Outlier
That said, there's one very weird thing in the data for 2018 --- one stat we were not terrible on: "Passing Down Sack Rate".

This is a measure that takes downs that are considered obvious or very likely "passing downs" and looks at the percentage of sacks. We weren't spectacular on this metric, but we were rated #57, which is very middle of the pack. Why were we OK on this, but horrible on every single other metric?

I wonder on how many "passing downs" we were in maximum protection, and the defense chose to rush only four? I'm guessing that, against our OL, DCs would've been looking to mazimize their chances for a turnover. Against max protection, I'm guessing a blitz produces a lower percentage of turnovers. (I guess I guess a lot. I guess that's why no one's offering money for my football knowledge.)

Are there stats showing how often we were blitzed on passing downs? And if so, do the stats differentiate rush blitzes and zone blitzes?

Man, I love the smell of deep stats in the off-season!

 

[Jack Burton]

I worry that when the OL doesn’t dramatically improve to 8 wins in 2019 some fans will think it’ll never improve. We’re getting the players but they still have to be developed.

I think 2019 will be another difficult to watch OL year, but we won’t be dead last in those OL categories again.

 

[ThreatLevelOrange]

Devo182's post on advanced O-line stats was pretty eye-opening. While it's reaffirmed the things many of us have said all season, it's certainly nice to have quantitative proof of that.

Some of the intereting highlights of the Football Outsider stats --- we were:

(1) Dead last on percentage of running plays stuffed behind the line of scrimmage ("Stuff Rate") and not even close to next-to-last,
(2) Bottom 10% in every single run blocking category,
(3) #127 / 130 on Adjusted Line Yards
(4) #103 / 130 on Sack Rate

Football Outsider's stats go back to 2014, so we can compare with much of the Butch Jones era. 2018 was by far the worst performance for the O-line. Worse than 2014. Worse than 2017.


The One Weird Outlier

That said, there's one very weird thing in the data for 2018 --- one stat we were not terrible on: "Passing Down Sack Rate".

This is a measure that takes downs that are considered obvious or very likely "passing downs" and looks at the percentage of sacks. We weren't spectacular on this metric, but we were rated #57, which is very middle of the pack. Why were we OK on this, but horrible on every single other metric?

The answer IMO is that every down was a "passing down" for us.

Most teams have a much lower sack rate on "standard downs" than "passing downs." Georgia and Texas are both good examples. On standard downs, their sack rates were around 3.5% - 4.0%. On pass downs, that increased to about 8.5%. Meanwhile, our sack rate was similar on "standard downs" and "passing downs". In fact, the sack rate actually went down a bit on "passing downs" from 8.9% to 7.6%.

Our run blocking was so poor that our opponents didn't respect the run. Probably the greatest example was the South Carolina game where Muschamp decided to play his DBs back and dared us to run and throw short passes. This is not a tactic that he could have applied to any other team in the SEC. He knew we were incapable of winning in the trenches, so he simply had to prevent giving up "big plays".

Other teams simply blitzed to their hearts' content. They weren't concerned about getting bit by the run, because they knew our O-line was going to lose the battle. In essence, our inability to run block undermined everything else, so that opponents were able to treat 1st and 10 or 2nd and 6 just like "passing downs".


Why Were We So Bad?

There are a lot of reasons we were so awful on O-line.

(1) Firing of Mahoney; hiring of Walt Wells. Butch effectively fired Don Mahoney at the end of 2016 and replaced him with Walt Wells. Mahoney never had elite O-lines, but he did have a history of developing O-linemen and some of the stats were better than people realized in 2015 and 2016. Mahoney was probably an average OL coach at the SEC level ... not great, not awful. Walt Wells, on the other hand ... before UT, he was fired at USF for his dismal performance under Willie Taggart. He was exiled to lower-tier programs for a few years before becoming an Analyst under Butch. Our stats and O-line performance plummeted under Wells. Butch's O-lines were never great, but Wells turned an average OL into a very bad one in a single year.

(2) Firing of Dave Lawson. In April 2016, Butch fired Dave Lawson and basically left an open position on the S&C staff for nearly a year. This was also the period in which the now infamous "shirtless out of shape" team photo was taken. We experienced an unprecedented rash of injuries in 2016, which is likely due in part to poor S&C. In spite of the hire of Rock Gullickson the next season, it never felt like S&C recovered under Butch. Our guys continued to be weaker than their counterparts in the SEC. While Pruitt went out and hired one of the best S&C directors out there with Craig Fitzgerald, it's still important to remember that our O-linemen spent 2 years with inadequate S&C which hurt their development.

(3) The depleted 2015 class. The 2015 class was our Senior (or RS-Jr) class for 2018. It's the most important class for the O-line. Take a look at our 2015 recruiting haul on OL: Drew Richmond, Jack Jones, Chance Hall, Venzell Boulware, and Zach Stewart. Stewart's mom died after he signed and he never ended up enrolling at UT. Boulware transferred to Miami. Jack Jones was forced to retire due to injuries. Chance Hall has also suffered from repeated injuries and never felt close to 100% in 2018. So we signed a class of 5 O-linemen and you can say 1 -2 of them are left in a best case scenario. And Richmond is largely considered to be a huge underachiever; he would probably be re-rated as a 3-star rather than a 5-star.

(4) Bad luck. On top of all of this, we've just had plain ole' bad luck. Our 2 best O-linemen were unavailable for much of the season. Trey Smith's health issues have kept him off the field and may end his career. Kennedy suffered a season-ending injury in the 1st game. That's on top of losing Jack Jones forever and a host of other injuries that have limited several linemen.

(5) Butch's recruiting got worse. Butch Jones recruited well for a few years, but his recruiting clearly got worse during his last two seasons. In spite of the rash of injuries on O-line, Butch only took 3 OLs 2017. At least you can credit him for not going "FULL DOOLEY!", as Dooley failed to recruit O-linemen at all for over a year, but we still needed more guys to replace the ones we'd lost due to injuries and other issues. While we did get Trey Smith in 2017, the rest of the O-line haul was a bit weaker. Riley Locklear may turn out to be good with more experience, but he was probably thrown into the fire a bit early. Similar deal with K'Rojhn Calbert, who lost the entire 2017 season due to a knee injury, and who was more or less coming into 2018 in the same position as a true Freshman. But in reality, we probably needed at least 1 more blue-chip OL in 2017

(6) Scheme change. Then just to top it all off, we went through a scheme change and many of the current O-linemen are a poor fit.


Looking Forward to 2019

I think the O-line will get better next season, but the real question is "how much better?" Many of our guys were probably playing before they were ready (e.g. Locklear, Niehaus). Many were out of position (e.g. Ryan Johnson). Most would benefit from another offseason of S&C.

We'll add at least 2 blue chip recruits and hopefully a 3rd with Darnell Wright. But we'll still be a very young line and true Freshman rarely take starting OL jobs. Nevertheless, our depth will be much better next season.

Overall, I think the narrative that the 2018 O-line performance is all 'coaching staff' is inaccurate. Our issues stem from a series of mistakes by Butch Jones, a scheme change, and a mound of bad luck to go along with that. We'll have a much better sense of how this staff does with the O-line in late 2019 and 2020.

Great post, but Friend better get us from the bottom of these run blocking metrics. Coaches like Neidermeyer are well underpaid, so Friend’s troops better step up.

 

[ATLVols]

Our bottom 10 offensive line won’t be able to compete until we recruit over some of those players. We need to basically replace them.

It would help if Trey Smith and Brandon Kennedy come back healthy, but not counting on Smith.

 

[VolunteerHillbilly]

And maybe we get a good fit at OC.

Nobody gave me clothes for Christmas for once, so anything is possible.

 

[TAD]

Sure we have had some bad luck with players etc ... but probably 25 percent of the other teams have too ... my concern is not in players .. its in them looking lost and not knowing who or how to block ... we had so many just plain busts and whiffs ... thats coaching period .. WF better step it up or him and CJP will be looking for a gig .. and heaven forbid WF ends up being OC ..can you imagine the guy running our offense when his own players dont know what they are doing ??? thats a scary thought ...

 

[northknoxvol]

Will Friend

 

[I40VOL]

We recruited MAC offensive lineman (smith not included) for SEC play. Can't get a Cadillac from a Ford Focus

 

[LAVol1]

Overall, I think the narrative that the 2018 O-line performance is all 'coaching staff' is inaccurate. Our issues stem from a series of mistakes by Butch Jones, a scheme change, and a mound of bad luck to go along with that. We'll have a much better sense of how this staff does with the O-line in late 2019 and 2020.

Outstanding evaluation. Probably the best I've ever read on our team. BUT, a decent OL coach would have been able to show SOME improvement throughout the course of the season. Our OL, if anything, digressed. Conclusion: We do not have a good OL coach and that was a major factor in the team's 2018 performance.

 

[OH-Vol]

Can some repost the “shirtless out of shape team” LoL? I remember Crosby’s man-boobs, shocking that he hasn’t played a single down for us!

 

[DiderotsGhost]

Our OL, if anything, digressed.

We lost Trey Smith for the season, which was the biggest reason why we digressed. Excluding Smith's injury, the performance improved. We were at are worst versus West Virginia. We had two adequate games versus Auburn and Kentucky. We never looked great on OL, but if Smith had stayed healthy, we were better at the end of the season than the beginning.

Better depth would've helped tremedously, as well, as it's difficult to absorb even minor injuries when you lack it. I still think we're going to struggle next season on OL, but I do think the depth picture will be quite a bit better.

 

[northknoxvol]

Losing Trey Smith hurt but on the first play of the season the center and right guard let the nose guard run straight to the Qb untouched! That my friends is bad coaching!

 

[SCVol2018]

simply put...they are Butch's recruits for something different.

 

[BeardedVol]

I'd struggle to call Mahoney an average Div I oline coach, he'll never get a P5 offer again unless God-forbid, someone hires Butch as an HC.

I think the main issue is that they were/are undersized, especially for the power running game that Pruitt wants at UT; even Vandy's line weighed more. Even if they mastered blocking techniques, sheer physics is still working against them.

 

[Utbrianh]

About the outlier... To my recollection, most of our offense this year came on obvious pass downs.

1st and 10: pro set run up the middle stuffed.

2nd and 10: pro set run up the middle stuffed.

3rd and 10: jg heaves up a 50-50 ball and Calloway comes down with it.

Could it be that the play calling on obvious pass downs was more creative? Or maybe in those situations skill position players were given more latitude to improvise?

To me, these stats reflect poorly on our offensive scheming. Hope that's more of a reflection on Helton than on Pruitt.

 

[OrangeByBirth]

I think there were coaching mistakes. However, the real issue is the roster. Botch recruited on speed alone for his beloved scheme (or scum). In the SEC and most major programs speed is important but their big guys are just as fast as the small fast ones Botch went after. Recruiting will correct the problem.

 

[Fullfillmer]

If you get really bored - why not do an analysis of which specific linemen got beat the most. I know that the center play was dismal and one of the weakest links - but might be enlightening to see who was consistently getting beat. I think that a couple of positions consistently stunk which caused the entire line to falter. Kennedy going out at center was a huge/ devastating blow … we are going to need him healthy this season. Additionally, I would expect 2 possibly more true freshmen to start on the OL next season.

 

[BruisedOrange]

The One Weird Outlier
That said, there's one very weird thing in the data for 2018 --- one stat we were not terrible on: "Passing Down Sack Rate".

This is a measure that takes downs that are considered obvious or very likely "passing downs" and looks at the percentage of sacks. We weren't spectacular on this metric, but we were rated #57, which is very middle of the pack. Why were we OK on this, but horrible on every single other metric?

I wonder on how many "passing downs" we were in maximum protection, and the defense chose to rush only four? I'm guessing that, against our OL, DCs would've been looking to mazimize their chances for a turnover. Against max protection, I'm guessing a blitz produces a lower percentage of turnovers. (I guess I guess a lot. I guess that's why no one's offering money for my football knowledge.)

Are there stats showing how often we were blitzed on passing downs? And if so, do the stats differentiate between rush blitzes and zone blitzes?

Man, I love the smell of deep stats in the off-season!

 

[VolFanNC09]

I do think the play calling though was suspect knowing our deficiencies. My thoughts were you get the ball in Chandlers hands 15-20 times per game (Pass and run) and get the ball in JJ and Callaway's hands at least 10-15 per game and the offense should have run through them in quick passes, sweeps, runs, etc..

Any deep throws should have been max protect, when not in max protect, then quick passes with less than 3 secs or throw away. Remember Ainge in 2007? Cut had him do his progressions and then throw it away.

Where Kiffin is a "great" OC he basically says I have these 2-3 playmakers and I am doing designed plays to get the balls in their hands.

The OL did regress and had huge holes and was the weakest part of the team, but Helton didn't do them any favors on the protection packages and game planning. Anytime a DB was playing off of Callaway or JJ it should have been an immediate pass for instance and then the DL wouldn't have the time to sack Guarantano.

 

[ThreatLevelOrange]

Outstanding evaluation. Probably the best I've ever read on our team. BUT, a decent OL coach would have been able to show SOME improvement throughout the course of the season. Our OL, if anything, digressed. Conclusion: We do not have a good OL coach and that was a major factor in the team's 2018 performance.

Not worth his pay. See Neids for one that is.

 

[VAVolsFan2009]

Thanks DiderotsGhost and all of you who posted your thoughts. Great reads. I don't think anyone of us thought the OL would be as bad as they were. CJP was rumored to have said that he was appalled at the state of the roster. As we saw, he was dead on. The more I think about the OL situation the more I focus on the unbelievable lack of talent on the roster. I realize that they were affected by the scheme, but I just don't understand why they didn't work to raise their level of play and dedication. Why hasn't Tatum brought up his weight and strength to SEC levels? He has the athleticism to play in the SEC, but he needs more size and strength. I'm not just singling out Tatum. It's the whole list. I also understand that the lack of an aggressive S&C program has played a role in this. More and more I'm wondering if they just lack the desire to be better and to compete.

It's clear to me that CJP and staff want players who want and love to compete. That's why they wanted the recruits to come to camp so that they could see them hands on. With so many needs across the roster, they are bringing in 5 new OL assuming that Wright signs. That speaks volumes. It possible that at least 2-3 could start next season, or certainly be the 2-deep. Where will Ollie Lane fit in? Can Carvin and Calvert raise their game? Spring practice should be interesting.

 

[i2amavol]

Reasons why the Oline sucked?

Simple. No toughness, meanness, fighting attitude. Chess club members with pocket protectors. Small. Unwilling. No personal foul type.

How to fix.

Recruit big guys with strength in attitude and body. Smart guys who like to fight. Some who aren't smart but still like to fight. Play until after the whistle. Take pride in their work and when their QB takes a cheap shot. They respond, not shrug their shoulders.

#1, guys being out of shape.

#2, snowflake culture.

#3, constant change of coaches/scheme.

#4, 2018 had so many players who did not practice until Fall Practice.

It is my belief that there is nothing the coaches could have done to change/cover up for the fact that the players have simply been out of shape. Having the constant turnover in S & C, and not even having someone in charge of that!? Add to that the snowflake culture that seems to have overtaken the University in the last several years. I believe that culture also became a part of the football team's issues. Again, I don't think it matters who your position coach is, until you get these things fixed.

So, #3 and #4 are important, but not until you take care of #1 and #2.

 

[KBVol]

Devo182's post on advanced O-line stats was pretty eye-opening. While it's reaffirmed the things many of us have said all season, it's certainly nice to have quantitative proof of that.

Some of the intereting highlights of the Football Outsider stats --- we were:

(1) Dead last on percentage of running plays stuffed behind the line of scrimmage ("Stuff Rate") and not even close to next-to-last,
(2) Bottom 10% in every single run blocking category,
(3) #127 / 130 on Adjusted Line Yards
(4) #103 / 130 on Sack Rate

Football Outsider's stats go back to 2014, so we can compare with much of the Butch Jones era. 2018 was by far the worst performance for the O-line. Worse than 2014. Worse than 2017.


The One Weird Outlier

That said, there's one very weird thing in the data for 2018 --- one stat we were not terrible on: "Passing Down Sack Rate".

This is a measure that takes downs that are considered obvious or very likely "passing downs" and looks at the percentage of sacks. We weren't spectacular on this metric, but we were rated #57, which is very middle of the pack. Why were we OK on this, but horrible on every single other metric?

The answer IMO is that every down was a "passing down" for us.

Most teams have a much lower sack rate on "standard downs" than "passing downs." Georgia and Texas are both good examples. On standard downs, their sack rates were around 3.5% - 4.0%. On pass downs, that increased to about 8.5%. Meanwhile, our sack rate was similar on "standard downs" and "passing downs". In fact, the sack rate actually went down a bit on "passing downs" from 8.9% to 7.6%.

Our run blocking was so poor that our opponents didn't respect the run. Probably the greatest example was the South Carolina game where Muschamp decided to play his DBs back and dared us to run and throw short passes. This is not a tactic that he could have applied to any other team in the SEC. He knew we were incapable of winning in the trenches, so he simply had to prevent giving up "big plays".

Other teams simply blitzed to their hearts' content. They weren't concerned about getting bit by the run, because they knew our O-line was going to lose the battle. In essence, our inability to run block undermined everything else, so that opponents were able to treat 1st and 10 or 2nd and 6 just like "passing downs".


Why Were We So Bad?

There are a lot of reasons we were so awful on O-line.

(1) Firing of Mahoney; hiring of Walt Wells. Butch effectively fired Don Mahoney at the end of 2016 and replaced him with Walt Wells. Mahoney never had elite O-lines, but he did have a history of developing O-linemen and some of the stats were better than people realized in 2015 and 2016. Mahoney was probably an average OL coach at the SEC level ... not great, not awful. Walt Wells, on the other hand ... before UT, he was fired at USF for his dismal performance under Willie Taggart. He was exiled to lower-tier programs for a few years before becoming an Analyst under Butch. Our stats and O-line performance plummeted under Wells. Butch's O-lines were never great, but Wells turned an average OL into a very bad one in a single year.

(2) Firing of Dave Lawson. In April 2016, Butch fired Dave Lawson and basically left an open position on the S&C staff for nearly a year. This was also the period in which the now infamous "shirtless out of shape" team photo was taken. We experienced an unprecedented rash of injuries in 2016, which is likely due in part to poor S&C. In spite of the hire of Rock Gullickson the next season, it never felt like S&C recovered under Butch. Our guys continued to be weaker than their counterparts in the SEC. While Pruitt went out and hired one of the best S&C directors out there with Craig Fitzgerald, it's still important to remember that our O-linemen spent 2 years with inadequate S&C which hurt their development.

(3) The depleted 2015 class. The 2015 class was our Senior (or RS-Jr) class for 2018. It's the most important class for the O-line. Take a look at our 2015 recruiting haul on OL: Drew Richmond, Jack Jones, Chance Hall, Venzell Boulware, and Zach Stewart. Stewart's mom died after he signed and he never ended up enrolling at UT. Boulware transferred to Miami. Jack Jones was forced to retire due to injuries. Chance Hall has also suffered from repeated injuries and never felt close to 100% in 2018. So we signed a class of 5 O-linemen and you can say 1 -2 of them are left in a best case scenario. And Richmond is largely considered to be a huge underachiever; he would probably be re-rated as a 3-star rather than a 5-star.

(4) Bad luck. On top of all of this, we've just had plain ole' bad luck. Our 2 best O-linemen were unavailable for much of the season. Trey Smith's health issues have kept him off the field and may end his career. Kennedy suffered a season-ending injury in the 1st game. That's on top of losing Jack Jones forever and a host of other injuries that have limited several linemen.

(5) Butch's recruiting got worse. Butch Jones recruited well for a few years, but his recruiting clearly got worse during his last two seasons. In spite of the rash of injuries on O-line, Butch only took 3 OLs 2017. At least you can credit him for not going "FULL DOOLEY!", as Dooley failed to recruit O-linemen at all for over a year, but we still needed more guys to replace the ones we'd lost due to injuries and other issues. While we did get Trey Smith in 2017, the rest of the O-line haul was a bit weaker. Riley Locklear may turn out to be good with more experience, but he was probably thrown into the fire a bit early. Similar deal with K'Rojhn Calbert, who lost the entire 2017 season due to a knee injury, and who was more or less coming into 2018 in the same position as a true Freshman. But in reality, we probably needed at least 1 more blue-chip OL in 2017

(6) Scheme change. Then just to top it all off, we went through a scheme change and many of the current O-linemen are a poor fit.


Looking Forward to 2019

I think the O-line will get better next season, but the real question is "how much better?" Many of our guys were probably playing before they were ready (e.g. Locklear, Niehaus). Many were out of position (e.g. Ryan Johnson). Most would benefit from another offseason of S&C.

We'll add at least 2 blue chip recruits and hopefully a 3rd with Darnell Wright. But we'll still be a very young line and true Freshman rarely take starting OL jobs. Nevertheless, our depth will be much better next season.

Overall, I think the narrative that the 2018 O-line performance is all 'coaching staff' is inaccurate. Our issues stem from a series of mistakes by Butch Jones, a scheme change, and a mound of bad luck to go along with that. We'll have a much better sense of how this staff does with the O-line in late 2019 and 2020.

 

[KBVol]

Devo182's post on advanced O-line stats was pretty eye-opening. While it's reaffirmed the things many of us have said all season, it's certainly nice to have quantitative proof of that.

Some of the intereting highlights of the Football Outsider stats --- we were:

(1) Dead last on percentage of running plays stuffed behind the line of scrimmage ("Stuff Rate") and not even close to next-to-last,
(2) Bottom 10% in every single run blocking category,
(3) #127 / 130 on Adjusted Line Yards
(4) #103 / 130 on Sack Rate

Football Outsider's stats go back to 2014, so we can compare with much of the Butch Jones era. 2018 was by far the worst performance for the O-line. Worse than 2014. Worse than 2017.


The One Weird Outlier

That said, there's one very weird thing in the data for 2018 --- one stat we were not terrible on: "Passing Down Sack Rate".

This is a measure that takes downs that are considered obvious or very likely "passing downs" and looks at the percentage of sacks. We weren't spectacular on this metric, but we were rated #57, which is very middle of the pack. Why were we OK on this, but horrible on every single other metric?

The answer IMO is that every down was a "passing down" for us.

Most teams have a much lower sack rate on "standard downs" than "passing downs." Georgia and Texas are both good examples. On standard downs, their sack rates were around 3.5% - 4.0%. On pass downs, that increased to about 8.5%. Meanwhile, our sack rate was similar on "standard downs" and "passing downs". In fact, the sack rate actually went down a bit on "passing downs" from 8.9% to 7.6%.

Our run blocking was so poor that our opponents didn't respect the run. Probably the greatest example was the South Carolina game where Muschamp decided to play his DBs back and dared us to run and throw short passes. This is not a tactic that he could have applied to any other team in the SEC. He knew we were incapable of winning in the trenches, so he simply had to prevent giving up "big plays".

Other teams simply blitzed to their hearts' content. They weren't concerned about getting bit by the run, because they knew our O-line was going to lose the battle. In essence, our inability to run block undermined everything else, so that opponents were able to treat 1st and 10 or 2nd and 6 just like "passing downs".


Why Were We So Bad?

There are a lot of reasons we were so awful on O-line.

(1) Firing of Mahoney; hiring of Walt Wells. Butch effectively fired Don Mahoney at the end of 2016 and replaced him with Walt Wells. Mahoney never had elite O-lines, but he did have a history of developing O-linemen and some of the stats were better than people realized in 2015 and 2016. Mahoney was probably an average OL coach at the SEC level ... not great, not awful. Walt Wells, on the other hand ... before UT, he was fired at USF for his dismal performance under Willie Taggart. He was exiled to lower-tier programs for a few years before becoming an Analyst under Butch. Our stats and O-line performance plummeted under Wells. Butch's O-lines were never great, but Wells turned an average OL into a very bad one in a single year.

(2) Firing of Dave Lawson. In April 2016, Butch fired Dave Lawson and basically left an open position on the S&C staff for nearly a year. This was also the period in which the now infamous "shirtless out of shape" team photo was taken. We experienced an unprecedented rash of injuries in 2016, which is likely due in part to poor S&C. In spite of the hire of Rock Gullickson the next season, it never felt like S&C recovered under Butch. Our guys continued to be weaker than their counterparts in the SEC. While Pruitt went out and hired one of the best S&C directors out there with Craig Fitzgerald, it's still important to remember that our O-linemen spent 2 years with inadequate S&C which hurt their development.

(3) The depleted 2015 class. The 2015 class was our Senior (or RS-Jr) class for 2018. It's the most important class for the O-line. Take a look at our 2015 recruiting haul on OL: Drew Richmond, Jack Jones, Chance Hall, Venzell Boulware, and Zach Stewart. Stewart's mom died after he signed and he never ended up enrolling at UT. Boulware transferred to Miami. Jack Jones was forced to retire due to injuries. Chance Hall has also suffered from repeated injuries and never felt close to 100% in 2018. So we signed a class of 5 O-linemen and you can say 1 -2 of them are left in a best case scenario. And Richmond is largely considered to be a huge underachiever; he would probably be re-rated as a 3-star rather than a 5-star.

(4) Bad luck. On top of all of this, we've just had plain ole' bad luck. Our 2 best O-linemen were unavailable for much of the season. Trey Smith's health issues have kept him off the field and may end his career. Kennedy suffered a season-ending injury in the 1st game. That's on top of losing Jack Jones forever and a host of other injuries that have limited several linemen.

(5) Butch's recruiting got worse. Butch Jones recruited well for a few years, but his recruiting clearly got worse during his last two seasons. In spite of the rash of injuries on O-line, Butch only took 3 OLs 2017. At least you can credit him for not going "FULL DOOLEY!", as Dooley failed to recruit O-linemen at all for over a year, but we still needed more guys to replace the ones we'd lost due to injuries and other issues. While we did get Trey Smith in 2017, the rest of the O-line haul was a bit weaker. Riley Locklear may turn out to be good with more experience, but he was probably thrown into the fire a bit early. Similar deal with K'Rojhn Calbert, who lost the entire 2017 season due to a knee injury, and who was more or less coming into 2018 in the same position as a true Freshman. But in reality, we probably needed at least 1 more blue-chip OL in 2017

(6) Scheme change. Then just to top it all off, we went through a scheme change and many of the current O-linemen are a poor fit.


Looking Forward to 2019

I think the O-line will get better next season, but the real question is "how much better?" Many of our guys were probably playing before they were ready (e.g. Locklear, Niehaus). Many were out of position (e.g. Ryan Johnson). Most would benefit from another offseason of S&C.

We'll add at least 2 blue chip recruits and hopefully a 3rd with Darnell Wright. But we'll still be a very young line and true Freshman rarely take starting OL jobs. Nevertheless, our depth will be much better next season.

Overall, I think the narrative that the 2018 O-line performance is all 'coaching staff' is inaccurate. Our issues stem from a series of mistakes by Butch Jones, a scheme change, and a mound of bad luck to go along with that. We'll have a much better sense of how this staff does with the O-line in late 2019 and 2020.

Overall, a very good, very detailed, factual post.

However, any discussion about the failings of the worst OL in Tennessee football program history that doesn’t include the OL Coach’s complete inability to get his guys to understand and execute even the most basic elements of OL play for the entire season, is missing one of the most valid explanations.

Yes, we were missing 3-4 players from the last 3-4 recruiting classes. Yes our S&C program has not been up to snuff. But those factors simply don’t explain the lapses in fundamentals, the whiffs on blocks, the constant missed assignments in all 13 games played. No one is gonna legitimately argue that Charlotte held us to -3 yards rushing going into the 4th quarter in the latter part of the season because Jack Jones has to retire from football or because our OL collectively didn’t add 20 pounds to their squat PR in the offseason. Any of us who’ve been around for a minute recall what Kiffin and company did with the 260lb Sullins boys playing back in 2009....that was good coaching, good scheming. What we saw from Friend in 2018 was anything but.