By Vince Ferrara / @VinceSports

It was just game one against a team that isn’t close to what the Vols will face the rest of this season, but there are still some positives to take away from Tennessee’s Week 1 win over Bowling Green, 38-6.

1. Knowing What To Do

You didn’t see players out of place, looking around like they don’t know the call or their assignment or where to be like we’ve seen from them in recent years. The schemes aren’t as complex on either side of the ball and the players operated like they knew the plan and the call. Cleaning things like that up at least give you a fighting chance. That’s a positive on the coaching staff as well as the players.

2. Defensive Line

Despite not being able to see the potential difference-making pass rush of DE Byron Young, who did not play, the Vols moved the line of scrimmage quite a bit. UT recorded 11 tackles for loss and a +7 in that category. The unit had two sacks and allowed just 32 yards rushing. DE/OLB Tyler Baron had a couple of bull pass rushes back to the quarterback, although I had even higher expectations for him. DL Caleb Tremblay was in the backfield from both the interior and end spots. Big 350-pound defensive tackle Elijah Simmons was a force that drew some extra attention from Bowling Green. Bryson Eason had his most effective day in a Tennessee uniform with two of those TFLs. You could see the line doing it’s job disrupting and allowing the linebackers and secondary to flow to the ball and make plays. Star defensive back Theo Jackson was among those who benefitted with two of those TFLs. Matthew Butler said the defensive line would be the most improved unit on the team. Based on seeing them at practice, hearing about how many guys had good camps and thinking about how much better coached they’ll be under DL coach Rodney Garner, I felt better about the defense than better camp. The unit played like it’s made that jump, which is necessary for this team to succeed.

3. Tempo On Offense

The first two drives were masterful on offense for Tennessee. Two TD drives that combined for 20 plays, 133 yards in just 5:00 of clock time. That’s an average of 15 seconds per play. That includes running the play and lining up. UT was efficient and balanced as well, with 9 passes and 11 runs. That’s the balance that is typical of the identity of a Josh Heupel. The lack of substitutions, not having receivers switch fields, hustling to get up and give the right official the ball, center Cooper Mays sprinting to the spot ready to run the next play, quarterback Joe Milton knowing the next call and the coaches not delaying the calls…were all a part of the elite-level tempo. There’s a photo of wide receiver JaVonta Payton in our photo gallery (see above) where Payton is still in bounds and Heupel appears to be already calling the next play. Having success ramps-up the ability to go fast, so it didn’t continue to look that way, but it gives you a feel for what it could do to defenses. UT racked-up 88 plays in the game, which is where they would like to be. That’s where Heupel’s offenses at UCF were usually at among the nation’s leaders in offensive plays run. That could pay fourth quarter and late season dividends.

4. Halftime Impact

This had been an area lacking for a while at UT and it looked better Thursday night. The Vols came out with an 8-play 72-yard touchdown scoring drive in 1:58 to start the third quarter. All 8 plays on that drive were runs. UT reestablished the line of scrimmage with a plan. Tennessee would dominate the quarter and continue to pull away to the finish line.

5. Running Game

Tennessee rushed for 331 yards on 64 rushing attempts at 5.2 per carry. Your 1 and 1a running backs carried the load almost exclusively and both rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown. Both ran hard and broke tackles. Jabari Small put his foot in the ground and made defenders miss in the open field several times. I was even more impressed by Tiyon Evans. He shrugged off would-be tacklers regularly and showed athleticism to go with his power. You add now having a running threat on designed runs and scrambles at quarterback with Joe Milton and you now have more for future defenses to have to think about. We didn’t see much of speedy freshman Jaylen Wright, especially with the first team, so that area could still evolve.

Again, I know it was Bowling Green, but these are some things that could be promising signs as the season continues.

Tennessee hosts Pittsburgh Saturday at Noon. I’ll have an interview with a player in the pregame for a preview of the matchup.

Find more of my broadcasting work at VinceSports.net

By Vince Ferrara / @VinceSports

No Power 5 football program has been hit harder by the transfer portal than the University of Tennessee.

Counting transfers to FBS schools and 2021 NLI releases on current rosters, you could see 27 different former University of Tennessee football players on college fields playing for other FBS programs this season. That is incredible. The full list with jersey numbers is down below.

Watching college football, it jumps out how often you see former UT players, whether you root for them or not. If not, I get that too. I’m just listing the names.

Here’s the breakdown of the numbers.

Since the start of the 2020 football season, 32 scholarship players have hit the transfer portal. 29 went in the transfer portal after the 2020 season concluded.

Among the 32 scholarship players that went in the transfer portal, 26 have enrolled at new schools, 20 of those players are at FBS schools, 6 are at FCS programs and 6 have not found new homes.

Of the 20 at FBS schools, 12 are at Power 5 programs. Oklahoma has the most ex-Vols with 3.

There have also been 7 walk-ons listed in the transfer portal database since the start of the 2020 season, with 6 of them finding new spots to play college football.

UT also let 4 players out of their signed national letter of intent after Josh Heupel was hired as head coach. The 2 that are on current FBS rosters are listed below. 1 other went to an FBS school but was ruled medically ineligible. Another went to an FCS school.

Below is the list of one-time University of Tennessee players on other FBS teams (20) this season, if you choose, as well as 5 more players that transferred in 2019 and 2020 while at UT under Jeremy Pruitt that are currently on college football rosters. Jersey numbers are included to spot them when watching. You’ll also see depth chart positions based on their first games, official depth charts or projected depth charts entering Week 1. Those are fluid.

Check back on my “Vince’s View” blog page for future posts including weekly SEC football and NFL game predictions. Bookmark my blog page and check back often.
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Former University of Tennessee on FBS Rosters (27)
10 – LB Henry To’o To’o – Alabama (starting MLB)
0 – RB Eric Gray – Oklahoma (starting RB)
64 – RT Wanya Morris – Oklahoma (2nd team RT)
12 – S Key Lawrence – Oklahoma (2nd team SS)
19 – RB Ty Chandler – North Carolina (starting RB)
6 – LB Quavaris Crouch – Michigan State (starting LB)
58 – OT Jahmir Johnson – Texas A&M (co-starting LT)
13 – DE Deandre Johnson – Miami (2nd team DE)
24 – RB Cody Brown – Miami (not on depth chart) *released from 2021 Class NLI
42 – PK Brent Cimaglia – Georgia Tech (starting PK)
70 – OL Ryan Johnson – Georgia Tech (starting RG) *transferred before 2020 season
99 – DL Darel Middleton – West Virginia (not on depth chart)
7 – QB JT Shrout – Colorado (injured, out for the year)
18 – QB Jarrett Guarantano – Washington State (starting QB)
39 – EDGE Dylan Brooks – Auburn (not on depth chart) *released from 2021 Class NLI
91 – DL Greg Emerson – Memphis (not on depth chart)
17 – P Joe Doyle – Memphis (starting P)
3 – WR Brandon Johnson – UCF (starting WR)
68 – OL Marcus Tatum – UCF (starting LT) *transferred before 2020
5 – CB Kenney Solomon – Tulsa (3rd team CB)
18 – QB Kaidon Salter – Liberty (not on depth chart)
0 – CB Baylen Buchanan – Louisiana Tech (starting CB)
15 – WR Jerrod “Bub” Means – Louisiana Tech (3rd team WR) *transferred before 2020 season
23 – LB Will Ignont – Western Kentucky (starting LB) *transferred before 2020 season
8 – WR Latrell Williams – USF (starting WR) *transferred before 2020 season
0 – DL John Mincey – Arkansas State (2nd team DT)
5 – DE Kivon Bennett – Arkansas State (starting DE) *dismissed from UT before going in portal
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Find more of my broadcasting work at VinceSports.net