The Tennessee Vols have looked like a top 15 team for the first three weeks of the college football season. Tennessee has controlled all three of their opponents handily on the way to 21+ point wins. That includes a 45-24 win at Georgia Tech in a game the Vols led by 14 in the third quarter and never let the Yellow Jackets get any closer.

It’s early to be throwing the word around, but Tennessee has looked the part of a playoff team thus far. They’ve looked fast. They’ve looked explosive. They’ve looked physical. They’ve looked like what fans would hope their roster would look and play like with new strength & conditioning coach Derek Owings in charge of the roster since January.

But they’ve also done so against inferior competition. The competition level will be cranked up to 11 on Saturday against the Texas Longhorns, who invade Neyland Stadium for a noon kickoff with ESPN’s College Gameday in attendance.

So, have the Vols we’ve seen flying around the field and causing havoc been a product of Owings’ program? Tennessee LB Arion Carter gave Owings his props when asked about his effect on the field on Tuesday during his media availability session.

Tennessee LB Arion Carter gave kudos to Vols S&C coach Derek Owings for his increased performance

“I can definitely see a difference in year one just within the first couple of months just within myself,” Carter said. “I added on fifteen-plus pounds of lean mass without gaining any body fat. Just being able to increase my speed and increase agility. Everything like that has been able to pay dividends for me, I feel like. And just keeping that pro-like mindset and going throughout this season and just keeping a steady-level pace has been a great mindset.

“He (Owings) brings a different level of mentality as well coming from a championship program at Indiana. Just him having a certain standard for us has carried over very well, and I feel like we continue to just keep that mindset rolling.”

Carter certainly looked fast and agile on Saturday in Tennessee’s 42-9 win against the Kennesaw State Owls. He led the team with eight tackles, a sack, and two tackles for loss.

Tennessee will need that type of explosive play against Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns, one of the most talented teams in all of college football. We’ll find out on Saturday afternoon if Tennessee has indeed changed dramatically under Owings’ first offseason, or if perhaps there’s still a ways to go to close the gap with the top tier teams in the SEC and the nation.