Former Alabama QB makes huge statement about Tennessee after Vols' 25-15 win against Oklahoma
Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback/current ESPN analyst Greg McElroy made a massive statement about the Tennessee Vols on Monday. After watching Tennessee's 25-15 win against Oklahoma, McElroy, who won a national championship at Alabama in 2009, thinks the Vols can "win the whole thing". "I think Tennessee can win the whole thing," said McElroy on […]
Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback/current ESPN analyst Greg McElroy made a massive statement about the Tennessee Vols on Monday.
After watching Tennessee's 25-15 win against Oklahoma, McElroy, who won a national championship at Alabama in 2009, thinks the Vols can "win the whole thing".
"I think Tennessee can win the whole thing," said McElroy on Always College Football. "I really believe that. And based on this past weekend's performance, there were a lot of things I learned about this Tennessee football team. A lot. Yes, it wasn't the vintage, easy 50-plus point offensive outburst that we have become accustomed to seeing from the Tennessee Volunteers.
"But to go on the road in a hostile environment, in a game in which the Sooner fans had circled, and you win the game by double digits — the first time Oklahoma's lost a double digit home game since 2016. I think the biggest thing I learned about this game was just how this program has matured. Because I think there was a time, and this is a little bit on Josh Heupel as a coach. He's an aggressive coach — that goes without saying….Josh Heupel wants to ramp it up and apply the pressure. No doubt about it. But that's not what this game needed in order for the Volunteers to find victory. I think what it showed me is that Josh Heupel understood and could get the temperature and kind of sense how the game was being played. So as a result, he kind of checked his, I guess you could say ego, his offensive ego at the door."
"I think this Tennessee team, if they can continue to get growth at the quarterback spot, if they can get healthy along the offensive line, that's going to be big for them as well," continued McElroy. "If they can continue to harass opposing offenses and impact them in the pass rush and in the run defense and the run stops, this group can play with anybody in the country. And it would not surprise me at all if Tennessee ends up winning the national championship this year. They're that good. And they have progressed that much under Josh Heupel."
It's been a long time since the Vols were a legitimate national championship contender. But that's where this Tennessee team is a third of the way through the 2024 regular season.
There's obviously a long way to go, and the Vols have to continue to take care of business, but at the moment, it certainly looks like Tennessee is on a collision course with the 12-team College Football Playoff. And they might even be one of the favorites to win the whole thing by the time the calendar flips to December.
Where former Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen ranks the Tennessee Vols in his Top 25
Dan is high on the Vols
