The Tennessee Volunteers already have 25% of their regular-season football schedule in the rearview mirror, and they have yet to surrender a deep completion.
With the likes of quarterback Arch Manning and receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo, the Texas Longhorns have the ability to change that in a hurry.
“Knock on wood, but so far in three games, the ball hasn’t really been flying over our heads,” Vols secondary coach Anthony Poindexter said this week during a news conference. “The fastest way they score points is deep balls, so you just have to play good defense. At the same time, you don’t want your kids to play scared, either. We want to attack, and we want to be aggressive, which our kids have been doing.
“It’s about playing within the scheme. There are challenges, because they have more vertical throws in their offense than the three teams we’ve played so far, but we’re just going to do our job and try to keep the ball in front.”
The No. 1 Longhorns (3-0) and the No. 14 Vols (3-0) are set for a noon collision Saturday inside Neyland Stadium. The Southeastern Conference opener for both teams will be televised by ABC, with Clay Travis of Fox News Radio reporting Wednesday that President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend.
Tennessee’s undefeated start has transpired via lopsided wins over Furman, 56-9, Georgia Tech, 45-24, and Kennesaw State, 42-9. The Vols rank 20th among Football Bowl Subdivision teams in pass defense, having allowed an average of 151.0 aerial yards per game, and they have yet to yield a completion longer than 26 yards.
“We’ve been playing great ball,” Vols senior safety TJ Metcalf said. “We’ve just got to clean up the little things.”
Metcalf is a Michigan transfer, and he was his team’s leading tackler in last season’s Citrus Bowl, when the Wolverines lost to Texas 41-27. Manning completed 21 of 34 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns, with Wingo amassing 64 receiving yards as his top target.
Yet the difference was Manning’s running ability, as he took off nine times for a whopping 155 yards and two scores with a long run of 60 yards.
“Knowing he’s got the ability to scramble, you’ve got to have clean feet, clean eyes and read the right keys,” Metcalf said.
The 6-foot-2, 214-pound Wingo leads this season’s Longhorns with 13 receptions, with those catches going for 165 yards (12.7 per catch) and two touchdowns.
Texas made a monster splash in the offseason by obtaining Coleman, a 6-3, 204-pound junior who spent the past two years at Auburn. Coleman leads the Longhorns with 178 yards and four touchdowns on 11 receptions, averaging 16.2 yards per catch.
“What doesn’t stand out about them?” Poindexter said. “They have length. They have speed. They’re fluid in their movements. They have the whole route tree they can run against you, and they’re comfortable with their quarterback. When you watch them on tape, they look like a real operation, so it will be a challenge.”
Said Metcalf: “They’ve got big frames, so we’ve got to stay strong and play with their size. It’s going to be our first true test.”
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Due to the preseason injury to junior safety Edrees Farooq, sophomore cornerback Ty Redmond is Tennessee’s only returning starter in the secondary. Yet it’s a starting collection of seniors outside of Redmond.
“You look at all of our guys in the secondary, and they have all played in big games, so it isn’t going to be a big-game shock to them,” Poindexter said. “Like we say, it’s the next game on the schedule. You just have to play the opponent that you face on Saturday and play to your best and try to win the game.”
Neyland’s noise
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian earlier this week described Neyland as “what I consider the loudest stadium in the country.”
Vols head coach Josh Heupel was asked on Wednesday’s SEC teleconference what makes the 101,915-seat facility so loud.
“I think it starts with just the passion of our fan base,” Heupel said. “It’s a great stadium, and there is nowhere for the noise to get out of, but our fan base is passionate and understands football. They show up in a great way every Saturday afternoon or evening, and I think that’s where it really starts.”
Injury report
Running back DeSean Bishop and defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs were not listed on Wednesday night’s SEC availability report for Tennessee, meaning each will be good to go Saturday.
Another running back, Javin Gordon, and another defensive lineman, Nathan Robinson, were listed as questionable.
Listed as out for the Vols were tight end Ethan Davis, safeties Edrees Farooq and Dylan Lewis, linebacker Jaedon Harmon and former Baylor School receiver Joakim Dodson. Each of those players has a season-ending injury with the exception of Lewis, who left last Saturday’s game against Kennesaw State and was later spotted in a walking boot.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.