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We answer your best questions about Tennessee athletics and anything else in our weekly mailbag, Insider Mailing.
“So if the delayed decision on an OC hire really is because it involves a bowl team, who would be the most likely candidates?” – @thestonechisel
Nathanael: My guess would be someone like Jim Chaney at Georgia or maybe Chip Long at Notre Dame, but I still find either of them very unlikely. I would love for Chaney to return to Knoxville and be Tennessee’s offensive coordinator, but I just think that’s an extreme long shot.
Ben: There isn’t a delayed decision because someone is involved in a bowl game. As Austin Price reported Thursday morning, Jeremy Pruitt is resetting and essentially starting over.
“A lot of the talk is about what this OC hire means for Pruitt, but can we talk about JG? How much do you think coaching changes have hurt his development?” – Brian
Nathanael: I think that’s a really good question, and it’s something I don’t think has really been talked about since the beginning of the search. This will be JG’s fourth different OC in his four years at Tennessee, and it will be the fourth different person he’s had as a quarterbacks coach too. I absolutely think all that turmoil has hindered his growth, and we spoke to a QB coach last month who said just as much about Guarantano’s development.
Ben: I believe that coaching changes have absolutely slowed Guarantano’s development. It’s hard to believe that three offensive coordinators in three years wouldn’t. It’s three different systems with three different languages. But what has hurt Guarantano more than a new OC every single year has been the play of the offensive line. It has been downright disgraceful and is the biggest reason Guarantano hasn’t progressed the way someone of his potential should.
“Do you still care about the OC search? Should we care this much about it? When is an acceptable time to unplug from it and just let it happen?” – @indy68camino
Nathanael: My advice I gave to someone earlier this week was this: Just don’t keep up with this OC search till a decision is announced. Go focus on recruiting or basketball or something that’s actually worth your time and energy. This search is exhausting, and I know I’m tired of it and just want a decision to be announced. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if it isn’t announced till 2019. So let’s just focus on recruiting and the basketball team in the meantime. As long as they make the right hire, that’s all that matters.
Ben: I care about it in the sense that I want to know who the next OC is going to be, but I’m not sitting around all day worrying and stressing about it. I’ve said all along, I don’t care how long it takes to hire somebody as long as you hire the right guy. There’s no need to be all up in arms about the situation and threaten to never return to Neyland Stadium.
“How concerned are you about the DLine next year with the graduations and lack of immediate impact recruits so far?” – @gmannVOLS
Nathanael: I think heading into next season, my two biggest concerns for the team are the offensive line and defensive line. But at least with the offensive line, you’ll have essentially everyone returning and have that continuity there. With the defensive line, though, you have all three starters and a key backup in Paul Bain moving on because of graduation. I do think UT is doing what they can in the 2019 class to address that because they’ve picked up commitments from two JUCO defensive tackles, but I also wouldn’t discount them going after a grad transfer defensive lineman this offseason either.
Ben: I am very concerned. It’s the most concerning position group on the roster because you don’t have any obvious replacements. At least along the O-line Wanya Morris and more than likely Darnell Wright will be playing right away. With the D-line, Tennessee is going to need somebody unexpected to step and produce.
“Any big surprises coming on signing day?” – Chris
Nathanael: Well, we’ll see. I don’t feel as confident about that as I did a few weeks ago, but the Vols are still in play with some highly-rated guys who could be signing both during the early signing period and in February. UT got a flurry of bad news last week, but this weekend is looking like it’s going to be huge from a visitor list perspective. I still think the Vols can finish with a top 10 class.
Ben: There will be some big commitments near or on signing day. But I don’t think any will be a surprise. If there is going to be a surprise, it would be a guy like Josh Hazelwood or Owen Pappoe. For guys like Eric Gray and Darnell Wright, it wouldn’t surprise me if they signed.
“Does the win against Gonzaga make you feel more confident in winning a national championship this year?” – @htcook1999
Nathanael: It absolutely does. I still don’t think they end up winning the title, but it makes me feel better about them at least getting to the Elite Eight and even to the Final Four. I just don’t know if I’m ready to say they’ll actually win a national championship, but I do think that win proved they’re legit Final Four contenders.
Ben: 100 percent. Tennessee can beat anybody in the country on any night, on any court. Championship level basketball teams play elite level basketball on both ends of the floor, and that’s exactly what Tennessee is doing.
“Now that you seen some of the season and we are about to head to conference play, what’s your win/lose record prediction for the BasketVols?” -@GSix1987
Nathanael: I don’t think Tennessee loses any of their four remaining non-conference games before SEC play starts, and I think from looking at the SEC schedule and their match-up with West Virginia in the middle of the conference schedule, I wouldn’t put it past this team to go 14-4 in SEC play and end up with a 26-5 record or something along those lines. I think winning between 23-28 games is my range for this team in the regular season.
Ben: I think they’ll win anywhere from 24 to 28 games. If I had to guess, I would lean towards 27-4 or so. Maybe 26-5. With the Gonzaga game out of the way, Tennessee’s hardest game left on the schedule is Auburn and that’s the last game of the regular season. On paper, the Vols are better than every opponent they’ll face before the Tigers.
“Do you see Grant Williams fouling out of big games a concern for later on in the season? There seems to be a trend of this with him being out of games during crunch time when they are trying to pull off a win.” – Alex
Nathanael: Yes, it does concern me a little bit. He’s fouled out of both of UT’s biggest games to start this season, and it came back to bite them against Kansas. Tennessee got lucky that Admiral Schofield was red hot against Gonzaga or it might’ve hurt them then, too. Williams has fouled out in 14 of the 75 games he’s played at Tennessee. He gets called for some pretty weak fouls, especially for the kind of star he is. He’s going to have to be smarter about how he defends moving forward.
Ben: Of course. He’s the reigning SEC Player of the Year, and you always want him out on the court. But it does make me feel better that Tennessee has a guy like Admiral Schofield who can step up and will this team to victory. After all, you can make a pretty solid case that Schofield is the best player on the team.
