Coach Doug Mathews
Related Articles
Last week accomplished what was hoped for in the progression of this 2018 team. A win was never in doubt from the day the ETSU game was scheduled but more importantly for the future of this season significant improvement and the increased identifying of players who can “play” was a must. I think the Vols took a big step in accomplishing those two goals. This week we have another opportunity to take another big step in that direction. The West Virginia game “identified” the areas that needed to improve…..ETSU and UTEP are the path to that improvement. If this team can improve this week as much as it did against ETSU we should be in as good shape as our talent will allow when Florida hits Knoxville. Florida seems to have a lot of the same challenges as the Vols do.
WHERE DID WE IMPROVE LAST WEEK?
Defensively: Defensive backs…..the area of biggest concern coming out of West Virginia. IMO two freshmen Alontae Taylor and Bryce Thompson, two sophomores Shawn Shamburger and Theo Jackson and one junior Nigel Warrior will be playing the majority of snaps when the SEC schedule starts next week. Trevon Flowers another freshman is surely in the mix. They are the most athletic and most importantly have the speed to play the man coverages that Coach Pruitt would like to play. Thompson and Taylor at corner can be very good cover corners and both are good tacklers. The best part of this group…..they will only get better as they gain experience from playing together and from being coached in practice. Abernathy, Buchanan and Osborne certainly will play but I would bet on the six mentioned above to receive the majority of playing time, at least when we get to Florida.
Inside line backers…..Darrin Kirkland, Jr, Daniel Bituli and Quart’e Sapp improved last week. This is a good rotation and if Will Ignont keeps improving we should be in very good shape at these two positions. Kirkland, Jr and Bituli are heavy hitters who can run and Sapp is the best cover guy in passing downs. Ignont has the ability just needs to “soak” for a while.
Defensive line….while we have an outside linebacker position in fact we are playing four down linemen. Jon Kongbo and/or Darrell Taylor have their hand on the ground almost every snap and in my book that makes them a defensive lineman. Shy Tuttle and Alexis Johnson are playing well especially in stopping the run. Kyle Phillips and Emmitt Goodin improved last week. These four along with Paul Bain and Greg Emerson are in the rotation right now. Maybe another player will be identified in this game.
One key thing I should note here….if a player does not bust his rear and practice well he will not get many if any looks in the game. Coach Pruitt has made this clear time and again….you play like you practice.
Offensive: it all starts up front. Running back, tight end, wide receiver and quarterback are playing well right now and all made improvement last week. While the line improved as the game went along this is the one area that is not nearly where they should be as a group. Not to play the SEC schedule…..Not yet…..but a big step this week and a good week of practice next week could get them close. Trey Smith, Jahmir Johnson, Ryan Johnson, Jerome Carvin and Drew Richnond are the starters right now. As individuals they are good but as a unit they are inconsistent. Playing together is the only way you get better as a unit. Exactly what the backup rotation is right now is cloudy and this week will go a long way to identifying who they will be. Look for the offensive staff to make a big push to get this group coming off the ball. A strong power game is a must to compete in the SEC and these coaches know it!
Running backs……the deepest depth on team. Ty Chandler, Tim Jordan, Jeremy Banks and Madre London all have different skill sets that complement this offense. Banks is a power mainly inside runner, Chandler is the best receiver (reminds me of Kamara), Jordan a little bit of both and London a solid, experienced player. A lot of options….
Receivers…Callaway is the clear #1, Palmer is coming along and has some speed, I expect Jennings to play much more when the SEC starts, Johnson and maybe Murphy. Small rotation but that’s good in my book. Callaway and Jennings are a load to get on the ground. Both should be physical targets against smaller defensive backs.
Tight end….Wood-Anderson getting better as an online blocker. Huge upside here and expect good things going forward. Bumphus should eventually be the second online end. I like what Pope is doing…he has potential as a H-back and somewhat as a fullback. Not much below these three….IMO.
Quarterback…..Guarantano and Chryst in that order. #2 playing well. Toughness in pocket along with poise so far. Time will tell but I like his chances of being a very good QB mainly because this offensive staff will use his skill set more effectively.
This game plan a lot like last week…line up and play base defense, not much blitzing, a lot on man (improvement here). Try to identify a couple more players for next week. Offense….all about offensive line. A big step here is needed in the run game. We must get the defensive penetration fixed this week.
Let’s Talk next week……