Quarterback inconsistency will always be the main focus of an offense. Some wide receivers may feel a little uneasy if they aren’t getting the ball at a high rate. The first six games of the Tennessee football season have been anything but good when it comes to the development of the pass game.
The Vols will head into the Third Saturday in October averaging 186.5 yards passing a game. That is bottom of the Southeastern Conference and 110th in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Tennessee’s win over Arkansas came against its fourth Power 4 opponent and marked the first time a Vols quarterback passed for 200 or more yards against that caliber of competition this season.
Tennessee’s wide receivers came into the year with great expectations, and they’ve handled things well. No selfishness has seeped through, and when you talk to them, they are just as excited to block in the run game.
“Oh, man, it’s been an experience,” Tennessee wide receiver Braylon Staley said of his experience this year. “But I think that’s what I come to college for. These things happen, and you got to stay in and stay dialed in. I block too, so being able to block and help the run game, that opens up the pass game as well. Some receivers don’t want to be physical, getting in the box like that. But our guys here, we’re willing to go block, and that opens up the pass game for us.”
The run game has been the backbone of Tennessee’s offense this season. The Vols average 228.3 yards a game on the ground, second in the SEC and 15th in FBS. Arkansas tried everything it could to make sure the run game didn’t beat it, often lining up in a 5-3 defense with a deep safety who might as well have been in the next county. It took the Vols a while to get the ground game going, but in the end, it was what brought the win home.
“We had some opportunities to make some plays down the field,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel told me Monday. “Did at times, didn’t. There’s some things in the run game that we gotta be better at. The five-down look isn’t something that we haven’t seen previously before, but all in all, I think the biggest thing offensively for us is how do we not change the situation on our own? And that’s missed assignments, it’s penalties, where we’re playing behind the sticks.”
Staley sees the two sides of the offense feeding each other. If the quarterback can hit some throws downfield, defenses can’t sit on the run. Tennessee hasn’t given defenses enough in the pass game to totally respect it yet. George MacIntyre hit on a couple of big plays against Arkansas, but the Vols will need more of that.
“I think one deep ball can change the way a defense plays against us,” Staley said. “Just the way we play on offense, it can.”
He knows a few targets can decide whether a receiver has a quiet day or a big one. When asked what he tells teammates who aren’t seeing the ball as much as they’d like, his message was simple: stay the course.
“Just to stay down,” Staley said. “That’s the game, so you got to be used to it. You got to stay down and stay ready for your moment. And when your moment comes, you got to be ready to take advantage of it.”
Staley also isn’t letting the rivalry with Alabama change his approach. Given the stakes and all this game brings every year, Tennessee has to remain even keeled.
“I feel like you got to go into each game with the same mindset,” Staley said. “Obviously this is a big rivalry, one of the biggest in college football. There’s gonna be a lot of hype around the game. You can’t let it get too big. You can’t let the moment get too big. You got to stay on your level and just execute.”
Execution will be the difference Saturday against a Crimson Tide secondary that Staley called experienced, physical and good at forcing turnovers. Alabama gives up 236.5 passing yards a game, 12th in the SEC. But they have also intercepted nine passes, the most in the SEC and third in the nation. Whether it’s MacIntyre making his second consecutive start or Faizon Brandon returning under center, there should be openings for solid completions. Tennessee just has to make plays against an opportunistic defense.
“That’s a good secondary,” Staley said. “Them boys are experienced. They’re physical. They create turnovers, so we got a big week this week.”
