The Minutemen’s Defense
UMass is going to come after the quarterback, but its secondary shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the Vols.
The Minutemen are going to show a lot of different blitz looks. If the offensive line can pick up that pressure, then Quinten Dormady should be able to distribute the ball easily over the middle while he’s in the game.
Here’s two examples of pressure not getting to the quarterback last weekend against Temple:
UT’s receivers can regain some confidence tomorrow. UMass will send pressure, leaving the secondary vulnerable. #RTIFilmStudy pic.twitter.com/n7ytdi0aLa
— Will Boling (@will_boling) September 22, 2017
On the first play, the linebacker waits too long to engage the right guard. But once he finally tries to get to the quarterback, the ball is already over his head. These stunt blitzes delay the linebackers’ rush to try and force the quarterback to step right into pressure. But the defensive ends aren’t getting enough pressure to force any kind of delay.
Dormady hasn’t dealt well with pressure so far this season. So for him, this is a good chance to practice against a defensive front that will try to confuse him.
On the backside of the defense, UMass is left vulnerable because of the extra guys sent to rush the quarterback. Tennessee’s wideouts should be able to make a lot of guys miss, as you can see from the video above. The Minutemen are not a great tackling team.
But the UMass rushing defense has their hands full. And they know it.
Defensive end De’Shawn Downey had high praise for John Kelly earlier this week.
“He’s probably one of the best players we’ll see all year,” Downey said. “He breaks a lot of tackles. We need all 11 guys to the ball with him. This is his first full year starting and you can see the production he’s putting out already.”
The Minutemen are giving up 187.2 yards per game on the ground so far this season. Lots of those come from the quarterback position, but Tennessee didn’t get much production on the ground from their quarterback last week or all season so far.
Dormady and Jarrett Guarantano both deserve an opportunity to use their legs this weekend. Because that’s where the Minutemen struggle to stop the run, as you can see here in their loss to Coastal Carolina.
UMass gives up nearly 200 yds/game on the ground. Good chance to bring in a Guarantano option package? #RTIFilmStudy pic.twitter.com/s4uxraJzMb
— Will Boling (@will_boling) September 22, 2017
The running theme here is giving young players more confidence. This is the perfect time to throw Guarantano onto the field for an extended period of time. He needs his own package in this offense, because the Vols’ offense isn’t the same without the threat of an option run.
UMass puts its corners out on an island to stop the running back, which is good news for John Kelly. The junior running back shouldn’t be on the field in the fourth quarter, but all of the Vols’ running backs will have lots of one-on-one opportunities to make a couple guys miss and run for a long score.
John Kelly will have a field day tomorrow. Lots of one-on-one opportunities on the perimeter for JK to make guys miss. #RTIFilmStudy pic.twitter.com/pyOBWxdB3R
— Will Boling (@will_boling) September 22, 2017
This game shouldn’t be a challenge for Tennessee’s offense. The Vols should eclipse 250 yards on the ground with relative ease. I’d expect Tennessee to go to the air maybe 15-20 times and keep it on the ground for the majority of the game on Saturday.
