Tennessee football’s SEC opening win at Oklahoma was largely an unconventional one for Josh Heupel. The Vols leaned on their defense and played conservative offensively while knocking off Oklahoma 25-15 in Norman.
The Vols played a conservative game offensively in part because of Josh Heupel’s trust in his stout defense but also because of injuries on Tennessee’s offensive line.
Tennessee was already down starting left tackle Lance Heard entering the game and then starting right tackle John Campbell suffered an injury in the second quarter and did not return. Heard missed the game with an ankle injury and it’s uncertain what Campbell’s injury is though he has battled knee injuries this season and earlier in his career.
Facing a stout Oklahoma pass rush, Tennessee gave up a pair of strip sacks in the first half. One came prior to Campbell suffering the injury and the other came after the Vols’ starting right tackle went down.
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While Tennessee survived against Oklahoma, the question is when Tennessee can get its offensive line back to full strength.
“Between the adjustment of our personnel and structure, getting everybody in sync, it took us a little bit in the beginning parts,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said postgame. “But they (the backups) performed well. I look forward to hopefully having both of those guys back here by the time we get back on the field.”
Tennessee’s open date comes at a good time as the Vols look to get healthy ahead of their road trip to Arkansas and three straight SEC games before its second open date. The Vols have largely stayed healthy this season but the offensive tackle injuries are a serious issue due to the lack of depth at offensive tackle.
Dayne Davis started in place of Heard and Larry Johnson came in for Campbell when he suffered the second quarter injury. Davis struggled including giving up the first strip sack. Johnson replaced Campbell and turned in a strong performance.
