Former Alabama QB throws major shade at Tennessee's offensive line ahead of Vols' matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs
The Tennessee Vols' offensive line received some bulletin board material ahead of their big game against the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend, courtesy of former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy. McElroy, now an analyst for ESPN, previewed the Tennessee vs Georgia matchup on Thursday and he wasn't very kind to the Vols' offensive line — specifically UT's […]
The Tennessee Vols' offensive line received some bulletin board material ahead of their big game against the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend, courtesy of former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy.
McElroy, now an analyst for ESPN, previewed the Tennessee vs Georgia matchup on Thursday and he wasn't very kind to the Vols' offensive line — specifically UT's offensive tackles.
"Dylan Sampson, [Tennessee's] running back, is phenomenal," said McElroy. "The guy's got crazy good numbers. If you look at the hard yardage he's had to create, it's not like he's just running to daylight all the time. Most of the time, he's stacked up not too far downfield, because his offensive line is frankly not very good. And he kind of just creates on his own."
"If you look at this Tennessee offensive line, I'm gonna be honest with you, I think the Tennessee offensive line is a massive liability," added McElroy. "I think their tackles are a huge liability. Guard to guard, I think they're fine. Tackles, though, is where you attack them. And when you look at what Georgia has better than pretty much anybody in sport, they have two edge rushers that will get home and create a lot of havoc along the front. This pass rush was really quiet last week (against Ole Miss). Something tells me they're going to probably play their best game (against Tennessee). I would anticipate Georgia's best along the defensive front this week."
There's no doubt that Tennessee's offensive line struggled at times earlier in the season — especially at the tackle positions. But there were reasons for that. For starters, left tackle Lance Heard, who transferred from LSU to Tennessee after the 2023 season, needed some time to settle into a new offense. Additionally, right tackle John Campbell has missed some valuable practice time while managing a knee injury that he's playing through. Dayne Davis, a versatile backup offensive lineman, has seen some action for the Vols this season while spelling Campbell.
(Heard also missed some valuable practice time earlier this season while dealing with an ankle injury, which caused him to miss games against Kent State and Oklahoma.)
Heard, contrary to McElroy's harsh comments, has actually picked it up in recent weeks. The former LSU offensive lineman has allowed just two pressures on his last 76 pass blocking snaps (via PFF).
Tennessee's offensive line, regardless of how they played earlier this season, will need to have a great game against Georgia for the Vols to get a win in Athens. That means no pre-snap penalties and no holding penalties that wipe big plays off the board. If Tennessee's offensive line can play a clean game, the Vols will have a decent chance to win this game.
Some timely bulletin board material from McElroy should give the Vols' offensive line plenty of added motivation to play well against the Bulldogs on Saturday night.
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