As spring turns to summer, college football talk heats up. There’s been no shortage of storylines at Tennessee where a quarterback battle rages on and highly-touted transfer Chaz Coleman’s status with the team remains uncertain for this coming season.
But where does Tennessee stack up entering Josh Elander’s sixth season as head coach? On3’s Chris Low released updated SEC power rankings on Monday with the Vols landing right in the middle at No. 8.
“Josh Heupel didn’t sit pat following last season’s disappointing 8-5 finish,” Low wrote. “He overhauled his defensive staff, starting by bringing in veteran coordinator Jim Knowles, and hired strength coach Derek Owings away from Indiana.
“True freshman Faizon Brandon exited the spring in position to win the starting quarterback job. He has unlimited talent, but true freshman quarterbacks and the SEC usually aren’t a good combination. The Vols have one of the best receiving corps in the league. Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews combined for 121 catches and 1,650 yards last season. The big question mark on defense is the interior of the line.”
Tennessee’s schedule projects to be more difficult than it’s been in years as they face a nine-game SEC schedule.
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Here’s the Vols’ opponents and where they land in Low’s rankings: Texas (1), Texas A&M (5), LSU (6), Alabama (7), South Carolina (10), Vanderbilt (12), Auburn (13), Kentucky (15) and Arkansas (16).
It’s a year of transition for Josh Heupel and Tennessee football. The Vols return seven of 11 starters from a productive offense a season ago. However, there’s major questions at quarterback where true freshman Faizon Brandon and redshirt freshman George MacIntyre are battling for the starting job.
Defensively, Tennessee has undergone a major overhaul after a poor showing a season ago. Heupel fired defensive coordinator Tim Banks and most of his defensive staff, hiring Penn State’s Jim Knowles and three other new defensive assistants.
The Vols overhauled much of the defensive roster. With a solid returning and incoming linebacker core as well as a revamped secondary, Tennessee could be sneakily good in the back seven. But the defensive line remains a major question mark, especially with incoming edge rusher Chaz Coleman’s status uncertain.
DraftKings released a number of betting lines for Tennessee games next season last week. The Vols are 7-point underdogs against Texas, 9.5-point underdogs against Texas A&M, 1.5-point underdogs against LSU, 1.5-point underdogs against Alabama and 3-point favorites against Vanderbilt.
