Tennessee Football Predictions

Written by -

After making a bowl game in Derek Dooley’s first year on the job in 2010, the Tennessee Volunteers fell just short with a 5-7 campaign in ’11. They would lose at Kentucky 7-10 in their season-finale with a postseason berth on the line. The Volunteers had a brutal schedule last year that featured losses to Florida, Georgia, LSU, Alabama, South Carolina, and Arkansas.

With a much easier schedule, and entering the third year under Dooley, Tennessee has an excellent chance to be a surprise contender in the SEC East. The Vols return the most starters (19) in the conference and have 49 lettermen returning. Here is a look at their offense and defense, along with my prediction on where they finish in the East division in 2012.

Offense

The offense managed just 20.3 points and 333 total yards per game last season. The biggest reasons for Tennessee’s struggles were a tough schedule, coupled with an injury to its star quarterback. They’ll return 10 starters from last year’s team, so I expect this to be one of the most improved offenses in the country.

Junior QB Tyler Bray has shown flashes of brilliance in his first two seasons as a starter. He completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 1,983 yards with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions in ’11 despite missing five games with a hand injury. If he can stay healthy, Bray has an excellent chance to top the 3,000-yard mark this season.

The biggest loss on offense comes at running back, where the Vols part ways with leading rusher Tauren Poole (693 yards, 3.7/carry, five TD). Taking his place will be talented sophomore Marlin Lane (280 yards, 3.7/carry, two TD), who also had 17 receptions for 161 yards and two scores. Junior Rajon Neal (134 yards, 5.0/carry, 13 receptions, 269 yards, three total TD) will also get his fair share of touches.

The entire receiving corps returns intact. WR Justin Hunter was off to a monstrous start last year with 17 receptions for 314 yards and two touchdowns in his first two games before going out for the year with an ACL injury. Hunter returns, as do first-team All-SEC WR Da’Rick Rogers (67, 1,040, nine TD), senior WR Zach Rogers (14, 189, one TD) and senior TE Mychal Rivera (29, 344, one TD). This has the potential to be one of the better units in the country.

All five starters return along the offensive line. This unit brings back a whopping 105 career starts, which is tied for the third-most in the FBS. The returning starters are junior C Alex Bullard, junior RG Zach Fulton, senior LG Dallas Thomas, junior RT Ja’Wuan James and junior RG James Stone. I expect talented sophomore LT Antonio Richardson to earn a starting job after a productive spring. While the O-line paved the way for just 90 rushing yards per game and 2.8/carry last year, it only allowed 18 sacks. This will be one of the most improved units in the nation.

Defense

Given the tough schedule last year, the defense played pretty well. It only allowed 22.6 points and 341 total yards per game in ’11. The stop unit returns nine starters from last season, but it does part ways with two of its top three tacklers.

The biggest loss is along the defensive line as the Vols saw first-team All-SEC DT Malik Jackson (56 tackles, 11 for loss) get selected in the fifth round by the Denver Broncos in the NFL Draft. They are switching to a 3-4 scheme and bring back four of their top six linemen, including junior NT Maurice Couch (37 tackles, 6 for loss). They also add in former Alabama DE Darrington Sentimore, who will start right away.

The linebacker corps loses the team’s top tackler in third-team All-SEC MLB Austin Johnson (81 tackles, 5 for loss, four INT). However, this unit gets back its #2 tackler from 2010 in senior MLB Herman Lathers (75 tackles, 4.5 for loss in ’10), who was out for the year last season with an ankle injury. Also, sophomore SLB Curt Maggitt (56 tackles, 5.5 for loss), junior JLB Jacques Smith (35 tackles, 7.5 for loss) and sophomore WLB AJ Johnson (80 tackles, 4.5 for loss) are all returning starters.

The secondary returns eight players who started last year, including five that made eight or more starts in ’11. It has six very highly touted defensive backs with starting experience. The four projected starters are senior CB Prentiss Wagner (48 tackles, nine passes defended), sophomore CB Justin Coleman (10 tackles), junior SS Brent Brewer (24 tackles) and sophomore FS Brian Randolph (55 tackles). Providing depth will be junior CB Izauea Lanier (48 tackles, four pass break-ups) and senior CB Marsalis Teague (27 tackles).

SEC East Prediction – 4th Place

It’s tough to pick the Volunteers this low in the SEC East with as much talent and experience they have returning. QB Tyler Bray is in line for a huge year if he can stay healthy as he’ll be throwing to two of the SEC’s best receivers in Hunter and Rogers, while also being protected by a veteran offensive line. The defense should be even better than it was a year ago despite the losses of Johnson and Jackson. However, the schedule doesn’t set up well as Tennessee will have to travel to face both Georgia and South Carolina, while also playing Alabama and Mississippi State from the West. That being said, fourth is the worst I can envision the Vols finishing in the East, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them as high as second in the division at season’s end.

More Resources

Predictions by Team
SEC West SEC East
Alabama Crimson Tide South Carolina Gamecocks
LSU Tigers Georgia Bulldogs
Mississippi State Bulldogs Florida Gators
Arkansas Razorbacks Tennessee Volunteers
Ole Miss Rebels Kentucky Wildcats
Auburn Tigers Vanderbilt Commodores
Texas A&M Aggies Missouri Tigers

 

General Overview
ACC Big 12
Conference USA Independents
PAC 12 SEC
Big East Big Ten
MAC Mountain West
Sun Belt WAC
About the Author: Jimmy Boyd is known for his consistency. He's a proven winner in college and pro football, college and pro basketball and pro baseball. He finished as the No. 1 ranked MLB handicapper in 2007 by earning $1,000/game bettors $50,050. He also finished as the No. 1 ranked basketball handicapper in the 2008-09 season, profiting $1,000/game bettors 38,530. His basketball plays have banked $1,000/game bettors nearly $80,000 the last five years. Check out Jimmy's premium picks for tonight!
Connect with the author via: Twitter - Google+
WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.