2020 First Look: Tennessee Volunteers
We finally know all opponents and dates for the Razorbacks' 2020 season. Over the course of ten days, we'll give Hog fans an early look at each team on Arkansas's schedule, which is perhaps the toughest slate in all of college football.
Following Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Missouri alphabetically, Tennessee is up next in our first look preview series. The Vols finished the 2019 season hot with five wins and a bowl win against Indiana after starting the year with losses to Georgia State and BYU. Tennessee is not ranked in the coaches' preseason poll but they're the first team in the receiving votes section.
Tennessee Volunteers (n/a)
2019 record: 8-5 (5-3 SEC)
All time series vs Arkansas: Tennessee leads 13-5 (2-game winning streak for Arkansas)
Last meeting: Led by Alex Collins and his 154-yard performance, the Hogs defeated the Vols in Knoxville 24-20 in 2015. Rawleigh Williams also tacked on 100 yards despite Arkansas getting behind by 14 to start the game. The Razorbacks finally ended a 10-game streak of close games lost by a touchdown or less.
Head Coach (Record): Jeremy Pruitt (3rd season, 13-12)
Offense
Coordinator: Jim Chaney (2nd season) Chaney came to Tennessee after three years at Georgia, a year at Pitt and he spent 2013-14 at Arkansas.
2019 rushing rank: 87th, 144.1 yards/game
2019 passing rank: 75th, 221.4 yards/game
2019 total rank: 100th, 365.5 yards/game
2019 scoring rank: 97th, 24.2 points/game
Returning starters: 8
Key losses: Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway
Defense
Coordinator: Derrick Ansley (2nd season) Before becoming the DC for the Vols, Ansley was a DBs coach for the Oakland Raiders, Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee.
2019 rushing rank: 48th, 140.5 yards/game
2019 passing rank: 16th, 194.0 yards/game
2019 total rank: 23rd, 334.5 yards/game
2019 scoring rank: 29th, 21.7 points/game
Returning starters: 8
Key losses: Daniel Bituli, Darrell Taylor, Nigel Warrior
Recruiting
Four-year recruiting rankings (2017-20): 15, 20, 13, 7 (Avg. 13.75)
5-stars signed (2017-20): 2
4-stars signed (2017-20): 44
Outlook
Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols are getting almost Texas levels of preseason hype after closing the 2019 season strong with six wins, including a bowl victory. They were still beat by Florida, Georgia and Alabama by 20+ points each but it looks like they've entered the high-middle tier of the SEC after a few years of being down in the dumps. The Vols will have a QB battle this preseason but have a solid returner in Jarrett Guarantano, an offensive line made up of almost all former 5-stars and a sophomore running back waiting to breakout, Eric Gray. Not only is the offense looking good, but the defense buckled down tight to end 2019 and return a lot of talent there as well.
Difficulty Rating: 5