After an offseason full of talk, Tennessee opens up the 2025 football season on Saturday afternoon. There’s more intrigue around the football season opener than any other sport due to both the lack of media access during the offseason and the shorter 12-game slate.
That intrigue makes for a number of storylines I’ll be watching for when Tennessee tees it up against the Orange. Here’s five worth tracking.
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How Much 12 Personnel Will Tennessee Run?
Tennessee leaned on 12 personnel often last season, playing two tight ends and two receivers instead of three receivers and one tight end. How much will Tennessee do that to start this season?
The Vols personnel seemingly sets up for them to do it a lot again. They’re deep and talented at tight end and thin at slot receiver with projected starter Braylon Staley missing time in the preseason. If Tennessee does play a lot of 12 personnel, who is the second tight end besides Miles Kitselman? Ethan Davis is the logical choice but there’s been a lot of buzz around DaSaahn Brame in fall camp.
And if Tennessee does run a lot of 12 personnel, are there any new wrinkles we didn’t see last season? They weren’t overly creative out of the set a season ago.
Does Tennessee’s Offense Look Different?
This point flows right out of that one. We’ve seen Tennessee’s quarterbacks work on bootleg throws, seemingly out of the pistol this offseason. We’ve seen the Vols’ receivers work with tighter splits and we’ve seen more shallow crossing routes. Those are all things we haven’t seen much of in Josh Heupel’s first four seasons as head coach.
I’m in a bit of a see it in games to believe it category with those changes, but I am curious to see if Tennessee uses any of those small wrinkles. Even if it’s just a minor change, it would be notable.
If Tennessee does stick with the wide splits the vast majority of the time, do they do anything to get the tempo back in overdrive? Will they be aggressive taking shots down the field? I’m curious to see all of that.
How Does The Running Back Rotation Shake Out?
If there’s any position on the roster that I’m not sure who will play the most snaps, it’s at running back. Any given day, I can convince myself that DeSean Bishop, Peyton Lewis or Star Thomas will be Tennessee’s top rusher this season.
All three will play in this game, that I’m sure of, but how balanced will the carries be? How quickly will coach De’Rail Sims look to find the hot hand and ride it? Who gets the first crack at it? DeSean Bishop seems like the most likely choice but that doesn’t feel like a lock by any means.
This one could go any number of ways and should be fascinating. Syracuse’s run defense projects to be shaky and should give Tennessee some opportunities.
Who Are Tennessee’s Backup Defensive Tackles?
Defensively, the one area where Tennessee’s depth is shaky is at defensive tackle. Daevin Hobbs missing the start of the season due to an injury exposes that even more.
Jaxson Moi and Bryson Eason will be Tennessee’s first two defensive tackles on the field. But who replaces them when they need a breather? Freshmen Ethan Utley and Isaiah Campbell have positioned themselves well, but will Tennessee trust them enough to lean on them heavily?
How many defensive tackles will Tennessee play in this game? How many snaps will Eason and Moi play? All will be telling about how much the Vols trust their depth at the spot.
Will Tennessee’s Defensive Line Overwhelm Syracuse’s Front?
A season ago, Tennessee dominated NC State in week two because the Wolfpack just couldn’t block Tennessee up front. That trend continued for much of the year when Tennessee’s defensive line dominated foes like Oklahoma, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Tennessee is again talented on the defensive line, but they did lose some of their top players from a season ago and might not be quite as deep as they were a season ago. Syracuse is replacing three starters on its offensive line which presents Tennessee an opportunity.
If the Vols’ defensive front overwhelms Syracuse then there’s little chance Tennessee loses this game. It also bodes well for Tennessee to have a top 10 defense again this season.
