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Tennessee football’s five biggest concerns for 2022

By Caleb Calhoun

Nov 13, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Power T on the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Power T on the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 18, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel talks with quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) during the first half against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel talks with quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) during the first half against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Are opposing coaches now familiar with Vols’ offense?

We wrote about this in our post on offensive coordinator Alex Golesh addressing Tennessee football’s most baffling issue last year. The good news for the Vols is that Golesh and Josh Heupel seem to be aware of this issue, and that’s the first step to making sure it doesn’t plague them as the year goes on.

However, it can’t be ignored. The Vols last year were the best first-quarter team in the nation, and then they were among the worst in the second quarter. What happened is obvious. Coaches were caught off-guard by their offensive tempo, but after a couple of big plays, they were able to settle down the rest of the game.

This year, the Vols play seven of the same head coaches they faced a year ago. Five of those coaches were defensive coordinators before they became head coach, so that’s their speciality. As a result, you have to think they’ll be much more prepared for UT’s offense this year.

Without the big plays to catch those teams off-guard, how will the Vols be able to perform? They either have to continue that or make sure they don’t get dominated in the second quarter the way they did. In any case, this could be an issue if they didn’t change things up in the offseason.

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