Tennessee football: Five potential concerns about Vols promoting Joe Osovet

1. No on-field experience at FBS programs

He hasn’t coaches tight ends, and he hasn’t coached in the SEC despite holding off-field roles for two years. But beyond that, Joe Osovet’s experience is much smaller when you break it down into a larger context for Tennessee football.

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Since all of his extensive experience is colleges in or just outside of New York City, this is the first time Osovet has ever held an on-field role at an FBS program. His entire track record that Jeremy Pruitt touted deals with the success he had coaching community college and the offensive schemes he was able to come up with.

While those things are worthy of praise, it’s a big deal and a major concern that he hasn’t coached at this level. The Vols, as we have mentioned before, are not in a position in which they can hire a guy who needs a learning curve. They are on the precipice of turning a major corner, and they need to make sure they start rolling soon.

In that context, Osovet’s lack of experience at this level could be a problem. Now, the answer to this may also be the answer to the question as to why Jeremy Pruitt didn’t initially promote him. He needed to get the guy, who has a proven track record of success, acclimated to the nuances of what goes on in the SEC.

But it still comes down to the same thing. Tennessee football has a new guy in an on-field role who has never held a position like this at the FBS level. So it’s got to be the top concern right now heading into Pruitt’s third year.