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Tennessee football: 10 things Jim Chaney must do to improve Vols offense

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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3. Increase the vertical passing game.

We’ve been emphasizing this since the start of SEC play in 2018. Tennessee football did not have the depth to win a defensive slugfest with teams in the conference. Those physical games worked against them, and even with the line improving, it will likely be similar this year.

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Their best chance to win is to rely on the deep vertical passing game. We already talked about incorporating tight ends and slot receivers to stretch the field. Ty Chandler and Tim Jordan are also great receiving running backs.

But those guys are all to complement the core three: Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway and Josh Palmer. Brandon Johnson also fits that mold. And Johnson, Jennings and Callaway will all be seniors. These guys provide size and physical mismatches against any defender on the outside. Meanwhile, Jarrett Guarantano has a big enough arm to get them them the ball, and Brian Maurer or JT Shrout would be able to do that too if either of them became the starter

Simply put, the biggest advantage the Vols could get is to maximize this passing game as much as possible. Jim Chaney did that with UT in 2012, which is why Tyler Bray put up historically amazing offensive numbers.

Tyson Helton spent way too much time trying to create proper mismatches with the receivers this past year. There’s no need for him to do that. Chaney should focus on just trusting the guys to outman their defenders. And he should just trust the arm of any of his quarterbacks to make the big play. That’s how the Vols will be able to score a lot.

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