EXPECTATIONS
Making a bowl game in year one is a reasonable goal for first-time head coach Jeremy Pruitt and a pair of first-time Power Five coordinators. Even the great Nick Saban could get Alabama to only a 6-6 regular-season record in his first season with the Crimson Tide back in 2007, and Saban brought head-coaching experience at three college programs and the NFL Miami Dolphins into the gig. There will be growing pains for a new coaching staff, especially as the middle of the schedule brings three straight games against preseason top-10 foes. For that reason, expect Tennessee to play its best football in the last month of the season as it fights for bowl eligibility.
WHAT’S NEW
From the coaches to the weightroom, the practice-field setup, the schemes and many of the players, there is a lot that is new with the 2018 Tennessee football team. Most notable is the mindset. “Coach Pruitt, he don’t play,” junior receiver Marquez Callaway said this summer. Contrary to some portrayals of him as gruff and stern, Pruitt does have a genuinely personable demeanor at times. But as Pruitt gets started turning around Tennessee’s football program, he – as Callaway put it – is not playing. Even the first 20 minutes of the first practice of preseason camp had veteran Volunteers players winded.
OUTLOOK
The schedule is essentially divided into thirds, and it’s not conducive to a quick turnaround. The first four games include two sure-wins against East Tennessee State and UTEP and two stiff challenges in West Virginia and Florida. The next four games are daunting at Georgia, at Auburn, at home against Alabama and at South Carolina. Finally, the last four against Charlotte, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt will provide an opportunity for Tennessee to close strong and take some momentum into December’s early signing period and year two of the Pruitt regime.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
It all starts up front in the Southeastern Conference. After generating a meager pass rush in 2017 and seeing its offensive line get decimated with injuries and atrition, the Vols need to show marked improvement in the trenches if they are going to exceed meager expectations. Jonathan Kongbo and Darrell Taylor struggled last season to generate a consistent pass rush. They will need to do better this season. If the Vols can be faster and more physical up front, that will help. Otherwise, keeping team chemistry and team health intact during a brutal midseason stretch of games will be vital to determining the final view of Pruitt’s first season.