All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football: Five bold predictions for Vols 2019 season

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 5: The Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey runs through the end zone after a score against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 5, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 5: The Tennessee Volunteers mascot Smokey runs through the end zone after a score against the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium on October 5, 2013 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
Tennessee football
Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images /

Jeremy Pruitt’s second season as Tennessee football’s head coach comes with many expectations. Here are five bold predictions for the 2019 Volunteers.

Will Tennessee football go bowling or have another losing season? Could they potentially finish off the year in the top 25? Is there any chance they beat the Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs or Alabama Crimson Tide?

These are the questions surrounding the Vols as they enter Jeremy Pruitt’s second season on Rocky Top. Coming off a 5-7 campaign with six losses by 25 or more points, the transition back to a pro-style offense and 3-4 defense was clearly a brutal one.

Add in numerous losses due to retirement from injury in the offseason, a transfer, and the departure of everybody on the defensive line up front, and there was still work to be done this year for improvement. A season-ending injury to Tennessee football’s only proven returning defensive lineman along with the suspension of a top player only makes it worse.

However, even with all of that, there is plenty of reason for optimism. Jim Chaney being back as offensive coordinator is a huge deal. Most of the offensive line being back and healthy is also a major plus. And a top 12 recruiting class that addressed key weaknesses is also a good thing.

So what does this all mean for Rocky Top? UT has had a rough decade, one that started less than 10 days in with Lane Kiffin leaving for the USC Trojans. They are looking to this year to be a launching pad for what they hope to be a much better decade in the 2020s.

Can Pruitt deliver? Well, there is a chance. And we have a few great things for him we think will happen this year to help this program along the way. That includes individual accomplishments and specific team accomplishments.

Which of these things are we claiming will happen? Let’s go out on a limb for a few of them here just to excite the fan base with the season about to start. These are five bold predictions for Tennessee football’s 2019 season.

Home/Vols Football