The Tennessee Vols' offense could be significantly better in 2025 because of one key change Josh Heupel made in the offseason
It's no secret that the Tennessee Vols' offense needs to evolve in 2025. Tennessee averaged 42.7 points per game during the first two seasons (2021 and 2022) of the Josh Heupel era. Over the last two years, the Vols have averaged 33.7 points per game. That's a fairly significant downtick in offensive production. There a […]
It's no secret that the Tennessee Vols' offense needs to evolve in 2025.
Tennessee averaged 42.7 points per game during the first two seasons (2021 and 2022) of the Josh Heupel era. Over the last two years, the Vols have averaged 33.7 points per game.
That's a fairly significant downtick in offensive production.
There a couple of reasons for the drop in scoring over the last two seasons. For starters, the Vols lost a couple of transcendent players in quarterback Hendon Hooker and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt after the 2022 season. The program also lost offensive coordinator Alex Golesh, who called plays for Tennessee during his time in Knoxville, after the 2022 season.
The loss of Golesh, specifically, has consistently been at the center of fan theories about why Tennessee's offense didn't fare as well in 2023 and 2024.
I think the reason for the drop in scoring has to do with numerous factors (personnel, play-calling, approaches from opposing defenses, etc), but I definitely buy into the idea that losing Golesh was a tough blow for Heupel's program.
Golesh wasn't afraid to think outside of the box. I think what he brought to the table complemented Heupel's existing offense extremely well. And Heupel completely trusted Golesh with the offense, which allowed Heupel to spend a little more time as the CEO of the program.
Unfortunately for Tennessee, Golesh isn't coming back to Rocky Top anytime soon. He's currently the head coach at USF and I think he's on his way to being a successful college football head coach for years to come.
The good news for Tennessee is that Heupel made a subtle addition to the coaching staff this offseason that I believe could pay major dividends for the Vols' offense in 2025.
Last month, Tennessee added former Oklahoma Sooners offensive coordinator Seth Littrell to the staff as an analyst.
Littrell, who also previously served as the head coach at North Texas, was a co-captain alongside Heupel on Oklahoma's 2000 national championship team. The two coaches, who have never worked together after their playing days at OU, have remained close friends over the years.
At first glance, fans might view this hire as a "yes man" type move because it looks like Heupel just hired one of his buddies.
But I don't think that's what it is. Sure, Heupel is helping his friend out by giving him a job just a few months after Littrell was fired by Oklahoma, but I believe this is a move that has some real value for Tennessee.
In fact, I think Littrell could fill some of the void left behind by Golesh. Maybe not in the play-calling sense (it seems like that will still be on Heupel's plate along with possibly giving offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle some more responsibilities), but more so when it comes to game-planning, play design, and general offensive structure.
Unlike Halzle, who has always been a subordinate to Heupel (Halzle started his collegiate career as a quarterback at OU when Heupel was the quarterbacks coach), Littrell is someone Heupel has only known as an equal in the world of football. Littrell has never worked for Heupel. Their only experience together on the football field has been as teammates, which means Littrell should be more comfortable than anyone in the building when it comes to giving Heupel some honest feedback.
That's something that Heupel alluded to on Friday while speaking to reporters after Tennessee's first spring practice.
"My relationship with Seth I think makes it easy in the transition as far as, man, he’s going to be straightforward with me and be able to bounce ideas off of me," said Heupel. "Just him having sat in that chair as a head coach, too. Excited about having him here."
It can be tough, at times, for head coaches to get honest and genuine feedback. Some assistant coaches can be uneasy about making suggestions because of how they'll be received. I think Heupel has created an atmosphere where that type of feedback is welcomed, but it's still human nature to be cautious about giving from-the-heart feedback to your boss. I think Golesh was good in that area. And I think Littrell is going bring that exact same element to Tennessee's offensive room.
Now, that doesn't mean that I think Littrell has all the answers (no one does). And I don't think he's going to be in Heupel's office every day giving him the cheat codes to win each week. But I do think he has a ton of college football experience. And I think even the fact that Littrell was fired by Oklahoma last year will allow him to bring some fresh viewpoints to Tennessee (some of the greatest lessons are learned by going through adversity).
We'll see how it all translates this fall as Tennessee takes the field for Heupel's fifth season. But I think the subtle addition of Littrell to the Vols' staff is going to be a move that helps get Tennessee's offense trending in the right direction again.
