Rivals had an interesting article last week on the relationship between Tennessee’s ability to run the football and their final ranking in the Southeastern Conference. It’s no big surprise that there is a direct correlation between the two.
| Can you spot the trend? | |||
|
Year |
Yards Per Game | Yards Per Carry | SEC Rank |
| 2000 | 162.7 | 4.1 | Third |
| 2001 | 154.1 | 4.1 | Fifth |
| 2002 | 150.5 | 3.8 | Seventh |
|
2003 |
138.5 | 3.9 | Ninth |
| 2004 | 186.0 | 4.7 | Third |
| 2005 | 128.3 | 3.5 | Ninth |
| 2006 | 108.0 | 3.7 | 10th |
The real question becomes, can the Vols lose a guy like Arron Sears to the NFL and still improve the offensive line? A line that ranked a disgusting tenth in the SEC last season.
Ramon Foster and Chris Scott are two guys that are expected to step in and help returning starters Josh McNeil, Anthony Parker and Eric Young. Jacques McClendon could also be a factor and senior Michael Frogg has the experience to compete for playing time.
The line could very well be key to Tennessee’s success next season and I don’t believe they have performed particularly well in the spring. Not to mention that the trend over the last seven years is alarming.
Do we have any reason to believe that Tennessee has the talent to rectify the problem this fall?