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Tennessee Football: Vols Guard Jashon Robertson Needs a Bounce-Back Year

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 27, 2014; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers offensive lineman Jashon Robertson (73) is tackled by Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Amarlo Herrera (52) after catching a deflection during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Georgia defeated Tennessee 35-32. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 27, 2014; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers offensive lineman Jashon Robertson (73) is tackled by Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Amarlo Herrera (52) after catching a deflection during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Georgia defeated Tennessee 35-32. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee football offensive lineman Jashon Robertson needs a bounce-back year for the Vols in 2016. The Volunteers junior guard struggled last year.

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It was one of the best stories among everything that took place in the world of Tennessee football during the Vols 2014 season.

As Butch Jones and the coaching staff were forced to break in an entirely new offensive line, they converted a three-star freshman defensive tackle in Jashon Robertson to offensive guard.

Very quickly, the 6’3″ 305-pound lineman became the sole bright spot of a young line, emerging as the best player of the unit and earning numerous freshman All-American honors that year. The consensus was going into 2015 that he would take the next step.

But despite starting 10 games, Robertson appeared to take a step backwards.

He fought injuries all year, and by the end, there were multiple other linemen that were viewed as more reliable than him on the Vols.

Now, going into this year, he is receiving preseason All-SEC recognition, but Dylan Wiesman is the guard getting all the real hype as the guy on the Outland Trophy Watch List, and Coleman Thomas has been placed on the Rimington Watch List.

That’s two offensive linemen getting preseason recognition over Robertson.

For the Tennessee offensive line to be as elite as Jones wants it to be, Robertson has to be able to replicate what he did in 2014.

Because he is naturally going to be raw on the offensive line due to switching over there, Robertson’s biggest reason for his success is his unbelievable strength at the position. He could be the strongest guard in Tennessee football history.

But injuries are obviously going to weaken him, and no matter how tough he is, he needs his full strength to do what he does simply due to the fact that he is still relatively new to playing offensive line and may not understand everything about blocking fundamentals, especially getting leverage.

That’s where Robertson takes the next step.

As a lineman, injuries will always be a setback, and as a defensive tackle, strength is naturally going to carry him. But Robertson has to pick up the nuances of playing offensive line.

Fortunately, he is a hard worker who has done everything he possibly could to max out his offensive line potential.

This year, the Vols need him to show that on full display.

Remember, the offense looked ugly last year when he missed the South Carolina and North Texas games.

Robertson needs to be on the field paving the way for the running game and protecting Joshua Dobbs. He has the most potential of anybody on the line except for Drew Richmond.

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Learning how to play offensive line a little bit better and staying healthy are just important parts of reaching that potential.

If he was able to do those two things over the summer, then provided he stays healthy into the season, Robertson could get back into the All-American conversation very quickly.

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