You would have to look long and hard to find a season in which Tennessee was a consensus pick to finish 5th in the SEC East. As a fan, if you read it long enough you tend to believe it.
Granted, UT’s offensive line is an extremely young unit. In fact, they aren’t even 7years old in dog years yet. The defensive line is paper thin. We aren’t talking about office grade stationery here. It is more like that recycled stuff you get from Back Office Depot. Unless you use a felt tip pen, you might just rip the paper as you write. Oh…yeah…we are breaking in a new quarterback as well.
Look at the bright side. UT could be going into this season without Tauren Poole, who I fully expect to be an SEC caliber back with the work ethic of a crab fisherman. The Vols could also be without Gerald Jones or Denarius Moore.
On the defensive side of the ball, Janzen Jackson is going to come into his own this year. Teague and Gordon may become lock down corners by the end of the season. The defensive ends will all be solid. The linebacking corps should be adequate as well. Maybe it could be better, but it could be worse.
There was once a possibility that the Vols would have Will Muschamp or David Cutcliffe roaming the sidelines in 2010. With the latter, all I can say is “been there and done that”. Between the turmoil of Lane’s departure and the fact that Mike Hamilton is still paying Phil Fulmer to stay away, I simply don’t think the “trustees” were ready to open the coffers for a Saban or Stoops type. You typically get what you pay for. Hopefully we will get solid coaching and recruiting for what Tennessee is paying Dooley.
Without going into details about the previous head coaching record of Tennessee’s new CEO, it is fair to say, regardless of the talent current talent level of his new squad, Dooley has traded in his Ford Ranger for a Lexus. He will likely experience growing pains of enormous proportions this year.
According to David Pollack, Justin Wilcox is going to give Boise State the edge over Virginia Tech this year. Given that Justin Wilcox is actually Tennessee’s defensive coordinator, shouldn’t that give the Vols a hypothetical edge over one or two opponents this year as well? It may be faulty logic, but it was fun to write.
Don’t look now, but Chuck Smith is also back in Orange. Maybe it could be better, but it could be worse.
As UT is breaking in a new head coach and coaching staff, did I mention that this is the most difficult schedule the Vols have had in the last five years (on paper, anyway)? However, if you take a closer look, the strength of the schedule is still Florida and Bama then everyone else. UT dodged the “Jeremiah Masoli” bullet twice in one year. That is not exactly unlucky. Steve Spurrier, Mark Richt, and Les Miles will all have quarterback issues this season. Kentucky is breaking in a new head coach, and Vanderbilt is still Vanderbilt.
Am I saying I see ten wins on the board? I wouldn’t dare go that far. I’m just making the observation that this schedule has the potential to look a little tougher than it actually is. If UT’s defense can get a few three and outs a game, the Vols should be fairly competitive in most of their games.
My prediction for the year is 6-6. UT will win one they shouldn’t and lose one they have no business losing. It could be better, but it could be worse.
It is Football Time In Tennessee. Go Vols!