Former Georgia Bulldogs star pass rusher David Pollack made a comment about Tennessee this week that won’t go over well with Josh Heupel and the Vols’ locker room.

Or I guess I should say it better not go over well with Tennessee.

While reviewing this past weekend’s action on See Ball Get Ball, Pollack told Vols fans that they have some things to be excited about — but only after he declared that Tennessee is “not a playoff team.”

“Tennessee’s not a playoff team by any stretch of the imagination,” said Pollack. “But if I’m a Tennessee fan, there’s a couple things I’m excited about. The defense is good. The defense is good enough to win a lot of games — which we didn’t know if that was going to be the case. The ground game got going in a big way, which is big time. You have a quarterback now that hopefully the rest of way makes [the offense] a little bit more explosive and creates some chunk plays. But you have an identity of who you are, and I just don’t think you thought it was going to be the defense.”

Pollack, despite definitively stating that the Vols aren’t a playoff team, then went on to compare this Tennessee team to the one that made the College Football Playoff in 2024.

“It’s like a couple years ago when they went to the playoffs,” said Pollack. “They’re going to have to rely on that (the defense), and they’re going to be in a lot of close games, and they’re going to have to make plays.”

Pollack may end up being right about Tennessee, but this comment should still be something the Vols take personally.

I think this Tennessee team has the talent to be a playoff team. The defense is good enough. And the offensive scheme is good enough. The Vols just need the quarterback to make some plays in the passing game. If the offense can find its footing, then this Tennessee team can win some big games.