Tennessee football: Five areas Vols regressed from 2018 to 2019

5. Ty Chandler

In 2018, we all stressed the fact that Tyson Helton under-used Ty Chandler. He was clearly Tennessee football’s best offensive weapon, and he showed it time and time again despite being a by-committee starter and being banged up in the early part of the season. Going into 2019, everybody had good reason to expect a ton from him.

Chandler finished 2018 with 630 rushing yards, averaging five and a half yards per carry, and four rushing touchdowns. He added 19 receptions for 193 yards and three touchdowns and became the first running back in UT history to have a receiving touchdown in three consecutive games.

With Jim Chaney back and an improved offensive line, his potential was through the roof. Remember, Chandler did all of this with a horrendous line. He had everything working against him and was still elite.

But this year, inexplicably, Chandler’s production slightly dropped. He had 20 more carries on the season but only 655 yards, dropping his average to under five yards per carry, and he only had three rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, in the passing game, he only had 13 receptions for 63 yards. Chandler wasn’t his usual break-tackles-in-open-space guy this year.

What hurt him at the end of the year was the breakout play of freshman all-purpose-back Eric Gray. That leaves room for competition next year, and with Jeremy Pruitt and Chaney looking for a power back, Chandler’s number of touches could further drop. The guy is still a dynamic playmaker, and anybody who saw him play knows that. But something happened last year.