Tennessee football: Vols TE Dominick Wood-Anderson has Mackey profile

Tennessee football senior Dominick Wood-Anderson is on the preseason John Mackey Award Watch List. The Volunteers tight end has the profile to win it.

If you’re going to win the John Mackey Award for the nation’s best tight end, you need to be a receiving tight end and have an offensive coordinator who loves you. Tennessee football has a tight end who fits both categories.

Dominick Wood-Anderson, a four-star junior college transfer from a year ago, had 17 receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns with the Vols last year. But he was stuck in a timing-based offense led by Tyson Helton that emphasized speedy receivers, and the poor offensive line play prevented the offense from getting anything going.

This year, Tennessee football figures to still struggle there, but the Vols remain loaded with potential. With Jim Chaney as offensive coordinator, Wood-Anderson, who is on the Mackey Award Preseason Watch List, has a great chance at winning it. Just look at the Mackey track record, Chaney’s track record as an offensive coordinator, and Wood-Anderson’s profile.

The Mackey Award undervalues primary blocking tight ends, which is why Austin Pope, the No. 2 tight end, is not as likely to make the list. Blocking has actually been a weakness of Wood-Anderson’s, but his receiving skills are elite. That’s why the 6’4″ 257-pound senior belonged.

On top of that, though, for as much as Chaney loved to run the ball with the Georgia Bulldogs, he has always loved balance and mismatches. And in Wood-Anderson, he has a mismatch at tight end, something he has loved to use in the passing game in the past.

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Don’t believe it? Look at the 2012 year, his last time on Rocky Top. The Vols had a historically great passing offense, who was similar to Wood-Anderson in that he wasn’t a great blocker, had 36 receptions for 562 yards and five touchdowns.