Tennessee football exits September riding high from its 41-20 victory over South Carolina at Neyland Stadium. The Vols enter their well timed open date 4-1 (1-1 SEC) with a discouraging loss at Florida but many attainable achievements still out ahead of them.
The five-game September stretch was, in some ways, not all that telling. Tennessee faced three vastly inferior opponents and laid such an egg in the second quarter against Florida that it was hard to draw any additional conclusions from the second half.
Still, there’s plenty we learned about Tennessee in September. Taking a look at four things below.
More From RTI: How Tennessee’s Opponents Fared In Week Five
Tennessee Is A Run First Offense
This was a hunch I had before the season and has been true from the first drive of the season opener against Virginia. The misconception about Josh Heupel’s offense is that it’s pass heavy, but even the last two seasons when Tennessee threw the ball effectively they ran the ball a high percentage of plays.
And now Tennessee’s personnel is more suited to run the football efficiently. Something else I learned about the Vols in September: running backs Jaylen Wright and Dylan Sampson are Tennessee’s two best offensive playmakers.
Wright’s lived up to all the preseason hype and is on pace to be Tennessee’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Jalen Hurd in 2015 despite missing almost the entirety of the UTSA game.
The Vols have utilized Sampson less but the sophomore makes plays on an inordinately high percentage of his touches. I’m not in the boat that Sampson should take all of Jabari Small’s touches. The issue is a difficult one.
Small is a good runner, reliable and does all the little things well. But Sampson simply has to get more touches than he has. He’s too talented. Tennessee can’t play another SEC game where Sampson doesn’t get a touch like what happened at Florida.
Nevertheless, Tennessee is a run first offense that’s going to run the ball to set up the pass.
The Joe Milton III Breakout Season Isn’t Coming
As great as Tennessee’s running back unit is, the last point is also true because of this point.
Tennessee fans and coaches hoped Milton would be a completely different guy after sitting behind Hendon Hooker for the better part of two years while learning all the intricacies of Heupel’s offense.
But that hasn’t happened and the Milton breakout isn’t coming. Sure, the super senior quarterback has improved in his two-plus years in Knoxville but he’s far from one of the nation’s best quarterbacks. Milton has real limitations.
He struggles with accuracy especially throwing the ball over the middle of the field and in the intermediate. He’s also made a few boneheaded turnovers that have cost Tennessee
That’s just the reality of the situation. It doesn’t mean Milton is awful— he’s not. It doesn’t mean Tennessee needs to bench him— they won’t, at least anytime soon. But it does cap Tennessee’s ceiling and mean that Heupel and offensive coordinator Joey Halzle are going to have to be creative offensively this season.
Tennessee’s Pass Rush Is Improved
One of the biggest storylines this offseason was if Tennessee’s pass rush could improve from its lackluster showing a season ago. Despite losing leading sack man Byron Young to the NFL, it has.
It’s still hard to tell how much it’s improved due to three weaker opponents but the Vols’ pass rush has absolutely dominated four of five opponents and didn’t force Florida into enough passing downs to dominate that game.
Sophomore James Pearce Jr. has been a revelation, leading the Vols with five sacks and a multitude of more pressure. Senior Tyler Baron is playing the best football of his career and is already at four sacks. Tennessee’s rabbit package with Pearce, Baron, Roman Harrison and Omarr Norman-Lott has been dynamic on third downs.
The Vols’ pass rush is improved. How improved is still to be determined but this is Tennessee’s defense’s ticket to being much improved from last season.
Tennessee’s Improved Linebacker Depth Is Real
I said all the way back in January that I was really intrigued by Tennessee’s linebacker room and the improved depth at the spot became a real talking point by fall camp.
That depth was immediately tested when BYU transfer Keenan Pili suffered an upper body injury against Virginia that’s expected to sideline him for most of the season.
Things haven’t been perfect at linebacker since and that was evident against Florida but sophomore Elijah Herring has been an adequate starter and Aaron Beasley is looking like, at worst, Tennessee’s second best defensive player.
But the depth is what’s truly stood out. Sophomore Kalib Perry has found a role as a third down specialist, freshman Arion Carter is improving at a rapid rate and fellow freshman Jeremiah Telander seems like the hidden gem of Tennessee’s 2023 signing class.
All three linebackers played double-digit meaningful snaps against South Carolina last week and their roles should only grow as the season progresses.
