The Tennessee Vols finished the 2021 season with the No. 7 scoring offense in the nation.

Tennessee's offensive turnaround under Josh Heupel last season was almost unbelievable after watching the team struggle offensively under Jeremy Pruitt for three seasons.

But while the Vols' 2021 season went better than expected offensively, it wasn't all perfect for Tennessee.

The Volunteers struggled in short yardage situations. When it was third and short and Tennessee needed to bulldoze their way forward for a couple of yards to extend a drive, they come up short more often than not.

Heupel recognized the Vols' short-yardage woes as a major issue and pledged to fix it this offseason.

Heupel says the offense was more efficient in short yardage today. Adds that it was a huge emphasis this off-season after struggles a season ago.

— Ryan Schumpert (@rschump00) August 9, 2022

To help fix the issue, Tennessee's coaches are focusing on teaching the running backs to consistently fall forward for extra yards at the end of runs.

"You hear me use the phrase and you hear Coach (Alex) Golesh and Coach Heupel use the phrase, pad plus two," said running backs coach Jerry Mack this week. "That means yards after contact, minimum of at least two yards we're going to always to be able to get."

That running style should certainly help the Vols pick up tough yards this season. But unfortunately for Tennessee, personnel issues during games could make converting those third and short situations a challenge.

Because of the way the Vols' offense operates, it's not always going to be possible for Tennessee to get their short-yardage running back/personnel into the game.

That's something that Mack alluded to while speaking with the media this week.

"With the way we play and the tempo that we play at, sometimes you would love to get a guy in there that has a little bit more power or a stouter back that can push the pile forward," explained Mack. "But sometimes with the way we play, that's not going to always be the case. The difference is that sometimes the defense isn't quite aligned. So now you're talking about, you don't have to have that big physical back that traditionally offenses have had in the past. The biggest thing we look for is just the tempo through the mesh."

Mack's comments indicate that tempo in those third and short situations will still be the priority in 2022. Essentially, Tennessee is more concerned with catching the defense off guard than lining up and battling it out in the trenches.

While I understand Heupel's approach — it certainly works — I'd like to see the Vols have the ability to line up under center and power forward for a couple of yards. If there's one criticism I have of Heupel, it's that he doesn't have some of those traditional SEC offensive approaches in his toolbox. I love Tennessee's offense and I think it's perfect for this era of college football. But it would still be nice for the Vols to have some other options — especially after watching UT struggle last season using the tempo approach in third and short situations.

Maybe Mack is being coy with his comments and we'll see the Vols take a different approach this season. But based on what he said this week, it feels like those third and short situations could be the source of frustration for Tennessee fans once again in 2022.

Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK