BY THE NUMBERS
2,291: Passing yards in 2015 for Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs. That ranked eighth in the SEC. Among returning SEC quarterbacks, only Chad Kelly of Ole Miss (4,042) and LSU’s Brandon Harris (2,158) had more. Of course, Dobbs also led SEC quarterbacks with 671 rushing yards and 11 touchdown runs.712: Yards total for Josh Malone and Josh Smith on 54 receptions in 2015. That accounts for nearly 70 percent of the production of Tennessee’s returning wide receivers. The Vols have just four wideouts back who caught a pass last season and lose leading receiver Von Pearson (409 yards on 38 receptions).16: Passing plays of 30 or more yards for the Vols last season. Within the SEC, that total equaled the output of Auburn and Kentucky, and only Georgia, Missouri and Vanderbilt had fewer. Four of those five finished ranked worse than 100th nationally in passing offense.
KNOXVILLE – Tennessee’s offense scored 457 points and piled up 2,908 rushing yards during the 2015 football season.
A brief look back through the program’s year-by-year offensive totals show the Volunteers were fairly prolific in a nine-win season.
The Vols averaged more than 35 points per game for just the second time since Peyton Manning’s junior season in 1996, and the rushing total was the highest since 1994, when James Stewart, Aaron Hayden, Jay Graham and Mose Phillips helped the Vols rush for 2,788 yards.
However, where Tennessee’s offense can improve to increase the number in the win column in 2016 is fairly obvious.