The Tennessee Volunteers came out of nowhere in 2022. In Josh Heupel’s second season he got Tennessee their first ten win season since 2007. Does year three have the potential to be better than year two? Who helps this offense take the leap to fill gaps? Here is the preview for the 2023 Tennessee Volunteers.
Offense
Josh Heupel is an offensive minded genius and we saw it on full display last season. However, he has to replace his quarterback and his favorite target. In comes senior quarterback Joe Milton, who showed some huge upside when he became the starter after Henson Hooker tore his ACL late in the season. Tennessee has a ton of weapons offensively including returners Bru McCoy and Squirrel White at wide out.
In the backfield, the Volunteers have a great trio of talented running backs. Jabari Small, who had 734 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns last year. Jaylen Wright, who had 875 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns last year, and finally Dylan Sampson who had 397 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. That’s 26 of their total touchdowns from last year coming back at the running back position; that’s huge. Yeah they put up a ton of points last season, but you can do that with a great offensive line. Tennessee had to replace two starters from a season ago and did that in the transfer portal. They brought in John Campbell Jr. (Miami) and Andrej Karic (Texas) to fill in the two needs at offensive line. If their offensive line stays healthy and finds a way to get accustomed to one another, Tennessee is due for another good offensive season.
Defense
We saw an improvement on the defensive side of the football from Tennessee last season. There is still more room for improvements from the Volunteers. On the defensive line they have experience, but they need some stability from their experienced players up front. At the linebacker position late last season, we saw a surge from Aaron Beasley. We also saw Tennessee add Keenan Pili from BYU to the front seven as well. Pili, a linebacker who has 190 career tackles, will provide some leadership for the front seven.
In the secondary their leader should be nickelback Tamarion McDonald. He was a stable performer a year ago and can help shape up this secondary that struggled in stopping the pass a season ago. They also added Gabe Jeudy-Lally from BYU as well to help add some depth to their secondary. All the Tennessee secondary starters are seniors who are ready to compete in the SEC. If they can get some good numbers from their secondary this year, the Volunteers are going to be a tough team to beat.
Win Total Bet
The win total is set at 9.5 on the FanDuel Sportsbook, with the over at +146 odds and the under at -188 odds. I think this Tennessee team will indeed have a good season in 2023. However, I don’t see them getting to double digits. With the odds for the under at -188, it is best to stay away from their win total in 2023.
Schedule Predictions
Blowout Win vs Virginia (1-0)
Win vs Austin Peay (2-0)
Statement Win at Florida (3-0)
Win vs UTSA (4-0)
Win vs South Carolina (5-0)
Loss vs Texas A&M (5-1)
Loss at Alabama (5-2)
Win vs Kentucky (6-2)
Win vs UCONN (7-2)
Loss at Missouri (7-3)
Win vs Georgia (8-3)
Win vs Vanderbilt (9-3)