Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback and ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy probably didn’t mean to, but he did the Tennessee Vols a favor this week.

Tennessee is currently locked into a battle with the Ohio State Buckeyes for 2027 five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, one of the most coveted recruits in the nation.

The Vols have put their best foot forward in this battle, and they have a good chance of winning it, but landing a recruit over the Buckeyes is never easy.

One of Ohio State’s big selling points to Gabriel Georges is the Buckeyes’ success when it comes to sending players to the NFL.

“He certainly likes what Ohio State does in terms of developing football players at that position,” said VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs Friday on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will. “They are selling him on getting him NFL ready through their offense.”

There’s no denying that Ohio State has had more success in recent years sending players to the NFL than Tennessee has.

But a comment from McElroy this week shows why that’s not very important when it comes to Gabriel Georges.

Greg McElroy accidentally did the Tennessee Vols a favor

While discussing Vols running back DeSean Bishop this week, McElroy suggested that the redshirt junior running back would be great in college regardless of whether he played in Tennessee’s offense — which has an unfair reputation among some folks in the media and in the NFL.

“I think he’s painfully underrated,” said McElroy of Bishop. “And I’ve been a huge fan of his. Just what he does after first contact — he’s got great contact balance. The (Tennessee) offense helps him, for sure. There’s no doubt the offense helps him. But I think he’s the real deal. I think he’s great regardless of the offense he’s played in. If he played in a different offense, he’d be fine.”

Tennessee’s offensive scheme often gets the credit for a player’s success, which can unfairly hurt the draft stock of the player. But McElroy’s comment helps show that a running back can be seen as “the real deal” while playing in the Vols’ offense.

And with Gabriel Georges, it’s not like he’s a player that’s going to require as much development as most young running backs anyway.

“I look at him and see what he’s doing in the weight room, and I’m not sure how much development he needs for the NFL,” said Hubbs. “I’ve not seen many in my life who could get off the bus and I feel like they could go directly to the NFL. The closest that I’ve personally seen to that was (former Vols running back) Jamal Lewis.”

Gabriel Georges is going to grow as a player during his time in college — he’s going to learn to be a better running back because of the coaching he receives.

But he’s already a first-round talent. Gabriel Georges is likely going to be a high draft pick, and that’s going to be because of his natural talent and work ethic, not because he’s coached by Ryan Day or Josh Heupel.

Maybe McElroy’s quote will help Gabriel Georges see past the false narratives about Tennessee’s offense.