What new Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said last year when asked if Josh Heupel runs an ‘Air Raid’ offense
New Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles went head to head against Tennessee’s offseason last season in the College Football Playoff.
One of the biggest misconceptions about Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is that he runs a version of the Air Raid offense.
There are certainly elements of the Air Raid in what Heupel runs — which isn’t a surprise since one of his mentors was the late Mike Leach, one of the godfathers of the Air Raid, along with Hal Mumme and Dustin Dewald. But Heupel believes in a balanced running attack, something the Air Raid isn’t known for, along with deep vertical shots (Heupel has continued to evolve offensively, but a strong run game and vertical deep shots are core principles of his offensive philosophy).
Last season, Heupel was asked about the narrative that he runs the Air Raid at Tennessee.
Heupel called the idea “laughable”.
“That’s kinda laughable, to me, to be honest,” said Heupel. “You look at our ability to run the football since we’ve been here. Statistically, over close to the last decade, we’ve always ran the ball really efficiently and effectively. We have balance. We do create big plays in the pass game. We create those things in the run game, too.
“I was proud of the physicality that we played with (against NC State) on the offensive line. Our tight ends, our running backs played that way, too. Same thing on the other side of the football. You look at the way our front seven played at the line of scrimmage. That was a big part of the football game.”
What Jim Knowles said about Tennessee and the Air Raid offense
Earlier this month, Tennessee hired former Ohio State and Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to replace Tim Banks as the program’s defensive coordinator.
Knowles faced the Vols’ offense a year ago in the College Football Playoff when he was still the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator.
Ahead of that matchup, which Ohio State won 42-17, Knowles was asked about Tennessee’s offense being compared to the Air Raid.
Knowles quickly made it known that he’s not big on labeling offenses.
“I mean, there are certain labels,” said Knowles. “But I remember, I don’t know — what’s air raid? You know what I mean? It’s like, I don’t know. Is that Mike Leach? Because there’s Art Briles. Didn’t they have that big tight end guy that was like 350 pounds, and they would hit you hard with the run. I think you throw out all the labels, you just look at what’s on the tape, and you see that they run the ball as well as they throw it.”
Knowles’ game plan against the Vols last season, by the way, worked to perfection. Ohio State held Tennessee to 256 total yards, and seven of the Vols’ points came in garbage time in the 4th quarter.
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