When injuries started plaguing Tennessee late last season, the impact was noticeable.
The Volunteers had built a 7-2 record in early November but simply couldn’t compete in consecutive losses to Missouri and Georgia, getting outscored by a combined 74-17.
When injuries started plaguing the Vols at Vanderbilt this past Saturday, they didn’t miss a beat in producing a 36-23 victory that wrapped up a 10-2 regular season and likely clinched an at-large invitation to college football’s inaugural 12-team playoff field. Depth has been the desire all year for Josh Heupel and his staff, and it delivered in Nashville.
“It’s something we were intentional about right after the bowl game last season,” Heupel said after Saturday’s triumph. “We just talked about having to play more guys. This isn’t something I’ve really talked about or made excuses for, but when we got here, I think our first spring we had 55 scholarship players.
“There were 28 scholarship reductions we had to take, and there was a growth to what we were going to need to do as a program. We’ve been intentional in growing these young guys and giving them opportunities early to make sure we have the depth we need to have.”
By the time top-ranked Georgia invaded Neyland Stadium last season, the Vols were without starting offensive linemen John Campbell and Andrej Karic, and lost a third, Javontez Spraggins, during the third quarter to a season-ending knee injury. They didn’t have receivers Bru McCoy and Dont’e Thornton or defensive back Tamarion McDonald, and the result was a 38-10 runaway.
Seventh-year senior linebacker Keenan Pili, who was lost for the season with a torn ACL against Florida, has been the biggest setback for this year’s Vols, but McCoy was unable to go at Vanderbilt, and Thornton was hurt after a pair of first-half touchdowns. That opened the receiving door for redshirt sophomore Chris Brazzell II, a transfer from Tulane, and five-star freshman Mike Matthews.
Brazzell and Matthews combined on eight receptions for 84 yards, with Matthews scoring from 14 yards out midway through the third quarter to put Tennessee in control at 31-17. Matthews collected three catches against the Commodores after entering Saturday with one reception all season against a league opponent.
“We have talked about young guys having to be ready,” Heupel said. “Mike is a young guy who did great in spring ball but then gets hurt and misses too much time in training camp. He had to battle through that in the early part of the season, but he has been super consistent and a really good practice player. These last two or three games, you could just see it coming.
“It’s a credit to him to keep investing when it’s not exactly what you thought it would be and understanding that there is still a lot out there for him. He played really good football today. Everybody is going to see the balls that were in his hands, but he had some big-time perimeter blocks, too.”
The Vols missed out on this week’s Southeastern Conference championship contest in Atlanta but will have nearly three full weeks to get healthy for the their expected College Football Playoff first-round matchup.
“Guys have to understand that it’s a process and a journey to get where you need to play championship-caliber football,” Heupel said. “It’s a credit to our guys for continuing to invest. Obviously we are a much deeper football team now, and there are not enough words to describe how much that has meant to us in this conference schedule.”
Said sophomore linebacker Arion Carter: “To be able to have guys who you can trust and to be able to rotate guys and execute at a high level without any drop-offs is an amazing feeling.”
Weekly honors
Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava was named Monday as the SEC’s co-freshman of the week, while fifth-year senior left guard Andrej Karic was tabbed co-offensive lineman of the week.
Iamaleava racked up four passing touchdowns for a second consecutive game and became the first Vols quarterback since Casey Clausen in 2003 to win 10 games in a regular season. Karic played 74 snaps without allowing a sack or a pressure and without committing a penalty on a unit that racked up 538 yards, including 281 on the ground.
The Heupel tree
The second member of Heupel’s first Tennessee coaching staff in 2021 has received his first head-coaching opportunity.
Jerry Mack, who was running backs coach of the Vols from 2021-23, has been named the new coach at Kennesaw State. The Owls struggled through a 2-10 finish this season under Brian Bohannon, the former Georgia receiver who had a lot of success when the program competed at the FCS level.
Mack currently is in his first season as running backs coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The first Vols assistant in the Heupel era to become a head coach was Alex Golesh, who was the offensive coordinator in 2021-22. Golesh just completed his second regular season at South Florida, guiding the Bulls to a 6-6 record after last year’s team finished 7-6 and routed Syracuse 45-0 in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Vols NET No. 1
Tennessee’s basketball team, which is off to a 7-0 start this season, is No. 1 nationally in the first NET rankings of the 2024-25 season that were released Monday.
The Vols are No. 2 behind Auburn in the KenPom.com rankings, and they are No. 3 in the latest Associated Press poll behind Kansas and Auburn. They resume play Tuesday night (7:30 on ESPN) when Syracuse visits the Food City Center in the second annual ACC/SEC Challenge.
Tennessee whipped the Orange 73-56 last season in the Maui Invitational but lost at North Carolina 100-92 in the ACC/SEC Challenge despite 37 points from Dalton Knecht.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.