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Tennessee football vs. Florida: Vols and Gators keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: The line of scrimmage is seen during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: The line of scrimmage is seen during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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6. Tennessee football’s pass protection

If Jarrett Guarantano is going to be the mobile quarterback that he needs to be, then the Vols need their pass protection to be top-notch. Even more so than their running game, they have to be able to protect Guaratano, and Keller Chryst if he’s going to be in the game. And that’s going to be difficult.

The Gators’ biggest strength is their pass rush. They already have eight sacks on the season through three games. That’s impressive enough, but to make matters worse, superstar defensive end CeCe Jefferson hasn’t even played yet. He’s back this week, fresh off his suspension, to wreak havoc.

Meanwhile, Tennessee football is still working things out on the offensive line. Trey Smith is 100 percent healthy according to Jeremy Pruitt. But because of the limited practice reps he got in the spring and even to start fall camp, he’s not fully ready for everything he’ll see at left tackle.

Drew Richmond, meanwhile, is once again suffering major growing pains by moving over to right tackle. Chance Hall, off the bench still has to get back into rhythm after missing all of last season and lots of practices in fall camp.

Then there’s the center issue with Ryan Johnson replacing Brandon Kennedy and starting his first game Saturday against a Power Five opponent. Simply put, the pass protection could be disastrous for the Vols, and it’s where the Gators could have the advantage. Remember the 2014 game? Yeah, it could look like that.

If the Vols are going to pull out the win, they somehow have to make sure that this is not an issue. That’s a major uphill climb given what we’ve seen through three games, so watch out. Jeremy Pruitt, Tyson Helton and Will Friend have a ton of work to do to make sure this doesn’t happen.

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