After a 38-10 loss to Georgia on Saturday, Tennessee is now 7-4 on the season with a 3-4 SEC record. The season hasn’t gone the way Tennessee or its fans wanted, especially down the stretch as the Vols have lost three of their last four.
While Tennessee’s offense has been arguably the most disappointing part of the 2023 season, the high number of injuries that have occurred haven’t done it any favors.
Against Georgia, Tennessee was starting its backup right and left tackles due to injuries and its fifth-string wide receiver due to two of the top four wide receivers being out. Additionally, star right guard Javontez Spraggins was injured during the Georgia game and did not return. And the injury could be significant.
Tennessee’s offense isn’t executing the way it needs to be this season, but injuries have hindered the Vols’ ability to get into a rhythm. And throw in the fact that your quarterback is more of a game manager than an X-factor in Joe Milton III, the injuries have mattered that much more.
While Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel recognizes injuries aren’t the main culprit of their struggles, he notes it’s different when the starters are unable to be on the field.
“Well, it is different than if you have those guys,” Heupel said. “But at the end of the day, you gotta line up and the 11 gotta go play against their 11 and we gotta find a way to go win in the run game, in the pass game— all of it. We didn’t do a good enough job today, as an offensive unit. And I’m including coaches in that too.”
Tennessee’s passing offense is where the big drop off is from last year to this year. The Vols’ rushing attack certainly isn’t to blame for any shortcomings as they’ve been one of the best RB rooms in the country.
And the injuries have greatly affected the passing game. Sporadic injuries to the offensive line hasn’t helped, but the Bru McCoy injury has proven to be massive in multiple facets of the pass game.
Squirrel White is good at what he does, but he’s not versatile enough to be a game-changing wide receiver, and Ramel Keyton and the other young guys simply aren’t big-time SEC wideouts. McCoy has been missed more than most thought he would be.
But again, it must be emphasized that Tennessee’s offense wouldn’t be firing on all cylinders if everyone was healthy. They’d be better, no doubt. But it wouldn’t have made them a top-tier SEC offense like they’ve been in years past under Heupel.
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Extending beyond just the offensive side of the ball, injuries have plagued Tennessee’s defense. BYU transfer linebacker Keenan Pili figured to be one of the most significant pieces on Tennessee’s defense at linebacker, but he’s played just a half of football this season.
Promising freshman and top backup linebacker was lost for the season due to an injury he suffered against Kentucky.
Kamal Hadden, who was far and away the Vols’ best defensive back, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Alabama, and then against Georgia, Tennessee was without starting safety Wesley Walker.
Injuries happen all the time in football and, unless its the starting quarterback, should never be the main reason a team was unable to live up to expectations. But in Tennessee’s case, when they would’ve been in store for a down year anyway based on what they’ve shown, injuries have made matters worse.
Tennessee may still be an 8-4 team with all those players healthy for the entire season, but they also probably score more than 0 points in the second halves against Alabama, Missouri, and Georgia to keep the games more competitive.
