Tennessee football at Georgia: 5 Vols to watch for against the Dawgs

Tennessee football’s blocking on the left side of the offensive line was abysmal Saturday against the Florida Gators. The left guard is in flux between Jahmir Johnson and Riley Locklear. Trey Smith seems to be safe at left tackle, even if he’s struggling, because he’s still getting used to the system.

When Locklear came in last week, the offense actually settled down more. But Smith is going to be the guy to watch for this week. We already mentioned Georgia’s weak pass protection. Combine that with the Vols’ desire to establish the run on the left side, and the left tackle is going to be huge for them to have an advantage.

The more Smith learns, the better he’ll get at left tackle. He’s still the best player overall on the line, but he’s simply not used to playing where he is. Another week of reps could help that a lot, and if it allows him to lock down the Georgia blindside pass rush, he could be critical to this game.

Jeremy Pruitt’s desire to have a more physical team has hit roadblocks in general on the offensive line. And they all need to step it up. But Smith will be the key guy Saturday to help make sure that Jarrett Guarantano’s jersey stays clean and that the running game explodes.