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Lets explore some depth charts! The Volunteers of Rocky Top Tennessee

Lets explore the depth chart of our fellow Eastern division brethren (Maybe also our other SEC opponents)! Next up the SEC's Darkhorse and media's pick to finish second in the division the Tennessee Volunteers!

Darkhorse: a candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds.

Don't get me wrong I'm not hating on Tennessee here I just think its silly to use the term and are making fun of those using it.

Also you might wanna mute videos until the sponsor at the start goes away if you watch them. Otherwise you will be like me and have a stupid bass-line stuck in your head.

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So how are you doin' this exactly?

Well I'm glad you asked!

Everything I will talk about will be from the most current projected two deep that I could find which in this case will be posted below. So any mistakes I'm sure will be corrected by other fan bases. Now if you remember Georgia being a bit weird well this one is gonna be even more so in some ways. This time I am going to use the projected depth chart from the website i used previously AND one that our sister(brother?) SBN site, Rocky Top Talk, came up with as well. Same rules apply where if I see any interesting names I feel worth mentioning at 3rd string down I will.

When Will We Play'em?!

Saturday November 21st 2015 in Columbia Missouri. Time TBD

Tennessee Depth Chart

Rocky Top Talk Depth Chart

Tennessee Roster

Offense

Quarterback :

11 Joshua (Josh) Dobbs JR 6'3" 212lbs

12 Quinten Dormady FR 6'4" 213lbs

No disputes between the two projected two deeps

Last seasons stats:

112 of 177 (63%) for 1206 yards and 9 TDs and 6 INTs

104 rush attempts for 469 yards (4.5 yard average) and 8 TDs

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There is no question on who will be starting at QB this year in the Tennessee hill's. Now I'll be honest, I had to go back and watch some tape on Dobbs because even though I KNEW he was a pretty good QB I couldn't remember anything remarkable. I figured it was probably cause I haven't watched him all that much (which is only kinda true). Well it turns out 2 of his worst three games have been against Mizzou (at least in QBR).

Team

Result

PC

PA

Yards

Completion %

TD

INT

QB Rating

RA

RY

YPA

Long

TD

QBR

Adjusted QBR

Vanderbilt

(2013)

L 14-10

11

19

53

57.9

0

2

60.3

11

23

2.1

14

0

7.8

12.9

@Missouri

(2013)

L 31-3

26

42

240

61.9

0

2

100.4

7

45

6.4

33

0

18.6

39.0

Missouri

(2014)

L 29-21

24

37

195

64.9

1

1

112.6

17

13

0.8

21

0

12.2

28.5

His forth worse game is another Vanderbilt game where he also had two INTs.

Against Mizzou he has had either had multiple interceptions or the defense took away his legs and forced him to win with his arm. So yes I had a reason to need to go back and watch some film.

Alright so what did you finally see already?!

I felt like I was watching someone that was a mix of Brad Smith and James Franklin when it came to the running game. Dobbs seems slightly faster than Franklin but isn't a tank. Has Smith's agility and elusiveness but not his speed. So as a runner he turns out to be is pretty darn good.

When it comes to passing he reminded me of Franklin with great intermediate passes, accuracy issues on the deep ball, and short passes seeming to lack zip at times. Honestly he seems kinda like what I thought the 2012 version of Franklin would have been if he hadn't been injured.

Most of his INTs seem to be either overthrows or because he is staring down his receiver and someone jumps the route. There was also at least one "those two weren't on the same page" kinda interceptions.

Considering he hasn't even played a full season yet, and all his stats are all in conference play, he really seems to have decent amount of room to be able to grow as a passer. His performance does somewhat hinge on a couple other units development but more on them later.

The Backups

So we've determined that Tennessee has probably one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC. So what about the guy behind him. Well here is where I get nervous and hope that Dobbs doesn't get sidelined for a significant period of time.

12 Quinten Dormady FR 6'4" 213lbs (pro-style **** via 247)

13 Sheriron Jones FR 6'2" 182lbs (dual threat **** via 247)

14 Zac Jancek FR 6'5" 195lbs (pro-style ** via 247)

15 Jauan Jennings FR 6'4" 202lbs (dual threat **** via 247)

No you see why I would be somewhat concerned. Now don't get me wrong, there is plenty of talent in this group. All 3 of the 4 stars were top 10 prospects at their position so it isn't lacking talent. However, it is lacking experience an the last thing you want is to throw a quarterback into the fire before they can handle it. From just looking at the spring game stats Dormady is more ready than Jennings at least.

Dormady: 5 of 8 for 96 yards and 1 TD

Jennings: 1 of 3 for 5 yards and rushed 8 gaining 52 yards and 1 TD (long of 45)

This is where I thrown in that I assume Jones didn't enroll early since he had zero stats that I could find.

Running Back:

1 Jalen Hurd SO 6'3" 230lbs

1 Alvin Kamara RS SO 5'11" 210lbs

0418_WEB_d_Vols_Hurd_t800_h8574b975c654275134b158556f90f5f5f67f7eb1.0.JPG

Last seasons stats:

190 rush attempts gaining 899 yards (4.7 average) with 5 TDs.

35 receptions for 221 yards (6.3 yard average) with 2 TDs.

Hurd is a big running back who seems almost to fast for his size (mid 4.3's from what I could find). He hits gaps quickly but also waits patently for his lineman to set blocks on the outside. Which when you throw all of that together sometimes he is pretty hard to actually tackle.

I do believe he is a really good running back but I wouldn't be able to give him a number on order of best SEC RB's. I'll just say he is easily within the top half and leave it there.

He also appears to be their Wildcat Qb when they line up in that formation.

Now remember when I started talking about lack of experience at quarterback?

Well running back isn't that deep either.

4 John Kelly FR 5'10" 200lbs

5 Ralph David Abernathy IV RS SR 5'7" 161lbs

Kamara in nine games, ran for 1,211 yards (134.6 per game) with 18 touchdown at Hutch last year after transferring from Alabama.

Abernathy has primarily had most of his success at Cincinnati as a return man (2100+) with less than 1000 yards rushing in his 4 years there.

So while running back is one of the better positions that you could lack experience at, I still felt it was worth mentioning.

Wide Receiver:

I won't be putting them into exact positions because

1. No one else did

2. They seem to move around some anyways

Players in italics will be who RTT has listed there instead

All stats are from last season

WR #1

8 Marquez North JR 6'4" 224lbs - 30 receptions for 320 yards and 4 TDs

18 Jason Croom RS JR 6'5" 235lbs - 21 receptions for 305 yards and 4 TDs

WR #2

2 Pig Howard SR 5'8" 187lbs - 54 receptions for 618 yards and 1 TD. Also 15 rush attempts for 96 net yards and 2 TDs

25 Josh Smith RS SO 6'1" 205lbs - 10 receptions for 135 yards and 1 TD. Also 2 rushing attempts for 9 net yards.

81 Johnathon Johnson SR 5'9" 185lbs - 10 receptions for 117 yards and 2 TDs.

WR #3

9 Von Pearson SR 6'3" 187lbs - 38 receptions for 393 yards and 5 TDs. Also 8 rush attempts for 27 net yards.

Josh Smith holds the #1 at this spot for RTT due to Pearson having some legal issues.

3 Josh Malone SO 6'3" 198lbs - 23 receptions for 231 yards and 1 TD. Also 2 rush attempts for 11 net yards.

The star of this unit (in my opinion) is Pig Howard (and with a name like Pig he should be). He is a blazing fast receiver who the coaches want to get on the outside edge or out in space to make guys miss.

Note: They use him on jet and fly sweeps a decent amount so that could be noted for some of his yardage

If you are Tennessee fan you might not wanna watch this one though

North is also a big athletic receiver who could be poised to have breakout year after two years at the position.

After watching this unit I came away feeling wanting more. Like I was missing something and the stats weren't complete. Its a unit that hasn't produced much, but it has one player (Howard) that has more catches last year either Georgia or Mizzou's projected starting lineup in their entire careers. Plus improvement from another unit could help out this one quite a bit, again more on them later.

Tight End:

82 Ethan Wolf SO 6'5" 240lbs - 23 receptions for 212 yards

48 Alex Ellis RS SR 6'4" 232lbs - 6 receptions for 115 yards and 1 TD

No one here should have forgotten Ellis

However Wolf is true star at the position. Much like his counter part at Georgia in Blasevich, Wolf is on his way to becoming a complete tight end as well. I also wouldn't be surprised if he takes on more of a roll in the passing game with another year of route running under his belt. He also could get a larger roll in the passing game if the next unit we talk about improves, then he might not be forced to to always be used as an extra blocker.


Offensive Line:

Minor note RTT didn't specifiy which which side of the line each position is listed so I am having to do some guesswork.

Left Tackle:

77 Kyler Kerbyson RS SR 6'4" 317lbs

51 Drew Richmond FR 6'5" 310lbs

74 Dontavius Blair RS JR 6'8" 295lbs

Left Guard:

75 Marcus Jackson RS SR 6'2" 308lbs

60 Austin Sanders RS SO 6'5" 307lbs

76 Chance Hall FR 6'5" 317lbs

Center:

57 Mack Crowder RS SR 6'2" 290lbs

71 Dylan Wiesman JR 6'3" 305lbs

RT Coleman Thomas is listed as the backup here

Right Guard:

73 Jashon Robertson SO 6'3" 310lbs

66 Jack Jones FR 6'5" 289lbs

LG Austin Sanders is listed as the backup here

Right Tackle:

55 Coleman Thomas SO 6'6" 308lbs

63 Brett Kendrick RS SO 6'6" 308lbs

77 Kyler Kerbyson RS SR 6'4" 317lbs

51 Drew Richmond FR 6'5" 310lbs

Alabama-Game-Final-13.0.jpg

13 (10 at LT), 17 (12 at LG), 12 (all at C), 13 (all at LG), 5 (all at RT) so 13,17,12,13,5

13 (10 at LT), 17 (12 at LG), 12 (all at C), 13 (all at LG), 2 (all at LT) so 13,17,12,13,2

So if you hadn't figured it out yet this is the group that is the biggest question going into 2015. Now between injuries (only RG Robertson stayed at the same position last year) and what I would assume the staff trying to put the best five guys on the field this unit had some struggles last season.

Via Football Outsiders

Offense

Adj. LY

Rk

Std. Downs Line Yards

Rk

Pass. Downs Line Yards

Rk

Opp. Rate

Rk

Power Success Rate

Rk

Stuff Rate

Rk

Adj Sack Rate

Rk

Std. Downs Sack Rate

Rk

Pass. Downs Sack Rate

Rk

Georgia

125.7

4

3.29

24

3.80

17

44.0%

21

65.3%

83

15.5%

18

116.5

45

5.0%

74

6.5%

47

Missouri

113.0

24

2.95

62

3.45

46

41.5%

35

76.4%

15

22.3%

107

111.6

51

4.6%

65

6.0%

40

Tennessee

110.4

32

3.05

52

3.20

74

40.4%

52

58.1%

116

21.3%

96

69.5

118

5.4%

81

13.6%

126

Basically... (assuming I remember how to still read this)

So ya when it came to the running game the offensive line came out kinda like Mizzou's statistically except they had a much lower success rate when trying to pick but 2 yards or less on 3rd and 4th down. The biggest difference is the pass blocking. While sack rate on standard down's leaves much to be desired passing downs in another story completely. The only two teams that fared worse in passing down sack rate? Navy at 14.9% and UCLA at 15.7%.

Maybe with another year under their belts this group will start to have success. We've even seen what happens first hand when those start keep going up. Plus in some ways this line can't get much worse in keeping their QB upright. For this unit to succeed it just has to be kept on schedule with leaning somewhat towards the run game, but still has to remain a threat to throw the ball to keep opening holes for its RB (or pulling guards to set up blocks for WR's on the fly/sweep).

Offenses generally live and die with their offensive line and Tennessee's is no different.

Defense

Defensive End:

9 Derek Barnett 6'3" SO 268lbs (oddly the only defensive lineman actually labeled as a DE on the roster)

5 Kyle Phillips 6'4" FR 255lbs

4 LaTroy Lewis 6'4" RS JR 260lbs

Defensive Tackle: I assume that RTT assumes this slot will be the Nose guard but I think its probably interchangeable honestly.

1 Kahlil McKenzie FR 6'3" 327lbs

2 Shy Tuttle FR 6'3" 315lbs

95 Danny O'Brien RS JR 6'2" 282lbs

1 Kahlil is the backup

Defensive Tackle: (Nose)

58 Owen Williams RS SR 6'2" 295lbs

95 O'Brien is the starter

96 Trevarris Saulsberry RS SR 6'4" 308lbs

58 Williams is the backup

Defensive End:

56 Curt Maggitt RS SR 6'3" 246lbs (is listed as a LB/DE hybrid on the roster)

50 Corey Vereen JR 6'2" 253lbs

122214c013colcolorutvandy0187737703188_t1070_h9d68f63c2e8b2fd6e4053f29cc31085fdc9f6627.0.jpg

Wanna know why I'm kinda scared of this defensive line?


For a bit more clarity here are the sacks and the opponents

Barnett: 1 Florida, 3 Ole Miss, 3 Carolina, 2 Kentucky, and 1 Vandy

Maggitt: 2 Georgia, 1 Florida, 1 Alabama, 2 Carolina, 2 Kentucky, 1 Missouri, and 2 Vandy

So do I think this is the best returning pair of DE's (in the east at least)? Its a easy and definitive yes.

Do I think this is the best pair of edge rushers in the East? I'm personally still more sold on Georgia's pair of outside linebackers but you can easily make the case for either.

Now defensive tackle is a bit more of a mystery. O'Brien and Williams combined had 56 total tackles (for comparison Matt hoch had 41). Now much like Georgia, and maybe Mizzou, Tennessee is getting some big names coming it at 247 #2 DT in Kahlil McKenzie and the #9 DT in Shy Tuttle. I would image both will see the field quite frequently in a rotation and it will be curious to see what impact these two have in the middle of the line.

Linebackers:

If you didn't noticed RTT has their defense 4-2-5 while the other projection has them in a standard 4-3. So we will pretend that strongside linebacker doesn't exist since they don't specify.

SLB:

17 Dillon Bates RS FR 6'3" 225lbs

42 Chris Weatherd SR 6'4" 217lbs

MLB:

51 Kenny Bynum RS JR 6'1" 250lbs

44 Jakob Johnson SO 6'4" 240lbs (is listed as a DL on the offical roster)

17 Bates is listed at the backup here

WLB:

21 Jalen Reeves-Maybin JR 6'1" 225lbs

20 Cortez McDowell SO 6'1" 227lbs

brandon-scherff-ncaa-football-taxslayer-bowl-iowa-vs-tennessee-850x560.0.jpg

With the return of WLB Reeves-Maybin returning with 101 total tackles, 2 sacks, 11 TFL, and 1 INT it would be unfair to say this unit is a question mark. However, just from looking at the roster I'm not sure who you would actually put in the other linebacker slot. Currently your options are either upper class man career backups or one of the younger players. As a single spot on the defensive roster this second linebacker spot is one to keep a close eye on.













Defensive Back:

Remember RTT has things listed for a 4-2-5 so there will be one extra spot listed.

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Corner:

23 Cameron Sutton JR 6'1" 189lbs

22 Malik Foreman JR 5'10" 187lbs

8 Justin Martin SO 6'2" 173lbs

Strong Saftey:

37 Brain Randolph RS SR 6'0 208lbs

29 Evan Berry SO 5'11" 208lbs

Free Saftey:

33 LaDarrell McNeil SR 6'1" 206lbs

6 Todd Kelly Jr. SO 6'0" 208lbs

Corner:

12 Emmanuel Moseley SO 5'11" 175lbs

8 Justin Martin is listed as the backup here

13 Devaun Swafford JR 5'11" 184lbs - so uhh i couldn't actually find this guy on the official roster

Corner: (Nickel position I would assume after reading RTT)

7 Rashaan Gaulden SO 6'1" 184lbs

22 Malik Foremanis here instead

I ended up finding out that #13 Devaun Swafford's career is over due to an unspecified medical reason. After being put on scholarship last may and playing in every game last season it appears his career is over. This is somewhat fresh off the press, 3 days as of this original posting, (Link) so good luck to the man and I hope it is nothing to serious.

Sutton is the #1 corner on the roster who, with his ability to play both inside and outside, will probably be moved around a decent amount this year to try and either hide where he is or try to lock down a teams #1 WR. He is a strong aggressive tackler who also seems to have a knack for getting his hands ball with 13 passes broken up and 3 INTs last year.

disclaimer this one is from 2013 but I wanted to show it anyways

Moseley spent last year backing up Sutton and managed a nice 18 tackles and six pass break-ups. I would assume he might be targeted somewhat early in the season to see how he holds up, but I would assume they will find it to be not be an easy route to for easy completions.

Gaulden is apparently the heir apparent at nickel and by reports from spring practice the job his to lose. He does appear to play the position very physically but that could be due his background from playing safety in high school.

Both backups seem fairly serviceable with 1 at least playing in 13 games last season while the other was the #1 JUCO cornerback last year. It will be interesting to see how they hold up when they are in for the starters.

Randolph is the veteran of this group having started 33 games. Your second team preseason ALL-SEC being only picked over one of the safeties at LSU (I say one because out of the two starting safeties he is second on most lists to either one or the other never both, his spot is at least consistent). Statically he looks the part after being a part of 88 tackles, breaking up 3 passes, 2 INTs, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. From tape you see a safety that keeps his eyes on the quarterback who puts himself in a position to try and either make a play on the ball, stop any completions, or allow for minimal gains after the catch.

McNeil is the other starting safety who was only part of 76 tackles, returning 1 fumble, breaking up 3 passes, and 2 INTs. Though not as highly regarded as his counterpart he is still a very good safety. It should be noted that his backup, Kelly Jr., is extremely talented safety. While I don't think he will overtake McNeil in the starting position the coaches will not hesitate putting him on the field.

If you asked me to do a side by side comparison of starting secondaries to both Mizzou and Georgia it would probably end up looking kinda like.

Corner: Mizzou>Tennessee>>>>>>Georgia

Safety: Tennessee>Georgia>Mizzou

Special Teams

RTT didn't project anyone on special teams :(

Aaron-Medley-1.0.jpg

Longsnapper:

59 Matt Giampapa RS SR 6'0" 217lbs

26 games snapped in with 13 at Michigan state. Snapped for a total of 149 plays last year. Recipient of the M Lee Mitchell Athletic Scholarship Endowment.

Punter:

31 Nate Renfro RS SR 6'1" 205lbs

Punted in all 38 games he played at Maryland. Averaged 41.5 yards a punt. Was a member of the BIG All Academic list.

Place Kicker:

25 Aaron Medley SO 6'2" 189lbs

97 George Bullock RS JR 6'0 210lbs

Started all 13 games as a freshman going 20 of 26 on FGs with a long of 46 and making 42 of 43 PATs. 60.1 yard average on 63 kickoffs with 15 touchbacks. Is also the recipient of the General Bob Neyland Endowment.

Kickoff Return:

29 Evan Berry

22 Malik Foreman

Punt Return:

23 Cameron Sutton

Final Thoughts:

Quick overview

You've (hopefully) done alot of reading so maybe you have forgotten.

From an offensive standpoint this team is pretty talented at the skill positions. They have a highly athletic quarterback, fast wide receivers with experience, a big running back who is almost to elusive for his size, and a blossoming young TE. However, the offensive line is still a major concern for this team. While they are able to run block well, pass protection is another issue. This is a unit that HAS to stay on schedule, otherwise there is a good chance that Dobbs will be either running for his life or looking at the ground. On the bright side they probably can't get much worse then last year and reps and consistency could do this group wonders (as we have seen first hand).

Defensively the line is solid at worst returning two defense ends who will both start out, and have a really good chance finishing, as the best DE's in the east and with the potential of top talent making an early impact to maybe shore up the any issues they have in the middle. The Linebacker corps has one really good linebacker but a legit concern on who will actually play the other (assuming they are regulated to a 4-2-5 most of the time). With probably the best safety duo in the east (remember I'm still looking through teams here) and and at least one corner position looking solid the secondary doesn't appear to be a glaring weakness. This defense could easily stay a top 40 defense and could even improve a reasonable amount from last year.

The snapper will keep snapping, the punter will keep punting, and the kicker will keep kicking. Just like they have in years past.

Please note that the next paragraph is not hating on Tennessee. I am trying to keep this as a neutral view.

Now having looked at the roster and saying everything I don't think this team will win the east in 2015. The biggest concern is the one glaring issue on this entire roster and that's depth. For this team to win the east would require no one from the starting lineup can be injured. At QB you would be forced to put in a freshman behind a offensive line that struggles to keep people upright, an the last thing you want to do is rush a young QB and stunt his growth. RB has nice talent but its no promise they could match Hurds production. The wide receivers have some experience on the second string but they haven't beaten out the first stringers who haven't always been game breakers. The second string TE has almost less than a forth of catches in his career then the starting TE. Then there is an offensive line that regardless of how bad they were last year arn't being beat out by the lower strings. Defensively its the same story thought when it comes to the secondary strong safety appears like it wouldn't miss a beat and while losing Cameron Sutton would be a massive blow there does seem to be a decent amount of depth at the position.

It also turns out I'm not the only person who has noticed this either.



Having said that I think the defense will put up some fantastic performances an the offense does have a ton of potential. So if they do stay healthy it wouldn't be a complete shock if they do win the east (I'll save predictions for every team in another post)

Now enough of being super nice and as neutral as possible. Time for a Mizzou/Tennessee Highlight

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