ESPN analyst singles out two Tennessee Vols players as a 'liability' in playoff game against Ohio State Buckeyes
ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy thinks two Tennessee Vols starting players could be a "liability" against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff. While previewing this weekend's matchup between Ohio State and Tennessee, McElroy, who played college football at Alabama, pointed out that he thinks the Vols' interior […]
ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy thinks two Tennessee Vols starting players could be a "liability" against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
While previewing this weekend's matchup between Ohio State and Tennessee, McElroy, who played college football at Alabama, pointed out that he thinks the Vols' interior offensive line is "rock solid", but he's concerned about how UT's offensive tackles will play against the Buckeyes.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the Ohio State offensive line,” said McElroy on Always College Football. “But can we, for a moment, just talk about the Tennessee offensive line? Now I think they’re rock solid — guard to guard, I think they’re rock solid. They play hard, they’re physical, they have a good understanding of who they are. I think their style helps. The tempo that they’ve utilized at times helps guard to guard. But I do think their tackles are a bit of a liability — especially when it comes to pass protection.
"Lance Heard at left tackle, John Campbell at right tackle. They have loads of penalties. Campbell at right tackle has 11 penalties on him this year alone. Now, those tackles are going to be working against Jack Sawyer, who I think’s had a really nice season. And Ohio State’s gotten a little bit more creative with their looks down the stretch. They can give you some different variety. They can give you some looping and some pressures and some blitzes and attacking specific parts of the opposing offensive line that they think they have an advantage against. I bet you anything they try to attack the tackles in this game. And I also think Tennessee is going to have some challenges with what they’re going to face from this Ohio State defensive front."
McElroy is certainly correct about the penalties — it's been a big issue for Tennessee in 2024. If the Vols are going to win in the Horseshoe, they can't have holding penalties that wipe out big gains, or pre-snap penalties that get Tennessee's offense behind the chains. The Vols will need to play a clean game to take down the Buckeyes.
Performance wise, though, it seems that Heard and Campbell have grown more comfortable in their roles as the season has progressed. Remember, neither of these players were in their current position a year ago (Heard was at LSU and Campbell was playing left tackle for Tennessee). It was always going to take time for the Vols' offensive line, as a whole, to gel.
Regardless of how things have gone for Campbell and Heard this season, there's no doubt they'll need to play the best game of their Tennessee careers on Saturday night against the Buckeyes. Tennessee has to win in the trenches to win this game. And Campbell and Heard will obviously be a big part of that.
It's going to be a challenge in Columbus, but the Vols are talented enough to get the job done — they just can't make a bunch of mistakes that make life easier on Ohio State.
ESPN’s Greg McElroy just provided Tennessee DB Boo Carter with plenty of motivation for playoff game against Ohio State
Extra motivation for Boo Carter
