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Tennessee football: 10 things to watch for in 2021 spring game

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: A view of the outside of Neyland Stadium before a game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers on September 15, 2012 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images) /
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Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

9. Offensive tempo

This builds off the energy we were talking about. Josh Heupel is famous for running an incredibly up-tempo attack. Danny White called it a fun brand of football to watch when he first announced Heupel as Tennessee football’s head coach back in January, and even if the Vols don’t win a lot, fans can at least be happy about being along for such a fun ride.

Saturday’s Orange and White game will give everybody the first taste of that. However, it may not be in the way that you think. When the UCF Knights ran more plays the past three years under Heupel, they had less success overall.

In 2018, they ran 75.8 plays a game. That upped to 78.9 plays a game in 2019, but they went from 12-1 to 10-3. Then came 2020, and they upped their plays to 85.9 per game while falling to 6-4 in the process. As they ran more plays, they won fewer games. Oh, their scoring dropped by more than a point per game in 2020 as well.

Simply put, tempo is big, but more plays doesn’t always mean more success under Heupel. Also, Butch Jones stressed tempo when he arrived on Rocky Top but could never get it going. The balance and efficiency with the tempo are huge, and that’s worth keeping an eye on.

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