Tennessee football: Spring signs show Vols offense reaching next level

Tennessee football’s offense was horrible in 2018. But the Volunteers appear to finally be taking that next step in spring practice of 2019.

Maybe it’s a combination of a new offensive coordinator and more experience. And you can still take this with a grain of salt. But Tennessee football appears to show signs early on of having a much better offense than they did last year.

Now, the next level for the Vols offense is simply being competent after being out of the top 100 offensively and having one of the historically worst offensive lines in history in 2018. However, any improvement is good improvement, some of the quotes from the coaches and observations from people covering practice show that it is indeed happening.

Let’s start with the offensive line, where improvement was mostly needed. After Saturday’s first scrimmage, Pruitt specifically praised the development of K’Rojhn Calbert, Nathan Niehaus, Jerome Carvin and Jahmir Johnson.

Add in his praise of Wanya Morris, a freshman coming along, Ryan Johnson’s versatility showing, and Brandon Kennedy’s return, and there are very encouraging signs on the line, even without Trey Smith. Pruitt still said the unit has to get better, but everybody he mentioned specifically outside of Morris was on the team last year and either inexperienced or just not healthy.

But it’s not just the line where improvement is being touted. Pruitt specifically touted the development of Jeremy Banks. A power back, Banks converted to linebacker last year. But with Madre London gone, Pruitt noted that he has stepped up his game. That’s a huge deal because Tennessee football needs that one key power back in a system.

When it comes to the skilled playmakers, they’re getting the attention as well. Just look at the Twitter accounts of John Brice and Austin Price on things they were told from the first scrimmage. The stars appeared to be go-to guys like Dominick Wood-Anderson, Ty Chandler, and Josh Palmer, and Morris stood out on the offensive line. They added that Jarrett Guarantano was fine at quarterback.

Then there is what Jim Chaney said. To nobody’s surprise, he identified wide receivers as the program’s strength at this point. With Palmer playing alongside Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway, everybody expected that. Brandon Johnson and Jordan Murphy are also on that list.

So, if you take everything into account, Tennessee football’s receivers remain elite playmakers, their quarterback play remains solid, their offensive line play is becoming competent, and the running backs are becoming a dangerous by-committee weapon. Oh, and Chaney is getting the ball to his playmakers like his tight end and his speedy running back.

Given how bad the offense was last year, it could only go up. And there was reason to believe it would. Remember, almost the entire offensive line missed the spring, and many missed part of fall camp. The whole unit had to switch from a spread to a pro-style as well.

This year, they’re healthier, deeper and more familiar with all of that. So a major improvement should be expected. At this point, signs point to that improvement being a real thing, and you can’t dismiss that.

Again, there’s always another side to this, and the defensive line still trying to find its guys is the other side. They’ve been struggling, and Pruitt’s quotes on that are clear as well. But, again, that was expected. They have to replace three new guys.

Some of the play is still a credit to the offense as well. While Pruitt is not always fully honest about practice, he doesn’t praise units just to praise them. So with him and Chaney praising that side quite a bit, you have to assume that there is some truth to the matter. It’s a major truth that will define the season.