ESPN's reason for loving the Tennessee Vols football team should excite fans
It's not often that fans of the Tennessee Vols agree with ESPN's take on the UT football program, but that might be changing with Jeremy Pruitt at the helm. ESPN recently revealed their pre-season football power index rankings and the Vols, surprisingly, are at No. 15. When I first saw these rankings my immediate thought […]
It's not often that fans of the Tennessee Vols agree with ESPN's take on the UT football program, but that might be changing with Jeremy Pruitt at the helm.
ESPN recently revealed their pre-season football power index rankings and the Vols, surprisingly, are at No. 15.
When I first saw these rankings my immediate thought was "no way". Even someone who sees the world in orange tinted glasses would disagree with these rankings on first glance.
Tennessee is certainly on the rise, and they had some bright moments in 2018 (beating Auburn on the road and dominating one of the best Kentucky teams ever), but they still stumbled to a 5-7 season (dropping their last two games to Missouri and Vanderbilt).
However, ESPN's reasoning, combined with their semi-scientific approach, made me quickly realize that it's not out of the question that Tennessee could be a top 25 team next season.
Here's what ESPN had to say about the Vols' inclusion in the top 25.
And if we look at perhaps the most surprising inclusion — Tennessee — it's easy to see why the Volunteers have flown up our board. Tennessee is one of just three FBS schools to return 10 starters on offense (and it brings back 17 overall), including quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who posted a solid QBR of 67.4 last season. Even though Tennessee struggled on offense overall last season, teams that bring back that much talent tend to undergo significant improvement from one year to the next. The Vols also rank highly in recruiting over the past four years.
ESPN is right — the Volunteers have plenty of experience returning next season.
And they have a ton of young talent on the way (UT's 2019 recruiting class was ranked No. 12 in the nation).
Pruitt has already proved he can develop true freshman talent as a head coach.
Check out what he did with cornerback Bryce Thompson in his debut season last year.
Another year of development under Pruitt and his staff, combined with another off-season in Craig Fitzgerald's strength program, should have the Vols poised to take a major leap forward in 2019.
But until it actually happens, it's hard to believe it will happen.
For now, though, I think fans should be cautiously optimistic about what the Vols could accomplish in 2019.
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
