Vols aim for improvement in 2011
USC vs. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS on 10/29
Coach: Derek Dooley (6-7 in one season at Tennessee, 23-27 overall)
Last Season: 6-7 (3-5 SEC), lost to North Carolina in Music City Bowl
Last Meeting with USC: 2010 (South Carolina 38-24)
All-Time Series vs. USC: Tennessee leads 22-5-2
There was a point last season where, in the words of Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, “it didn’t look like [they] were ever going to win another game.”
After a blowout victory over Tennessee-Martin to open the season, the Volunteers won just one of their next seven games. The most painful moment in that stretch was a 16-14 loss to LSU, where a penalty for having too many players on the field gave the Tigers an opportunity for a last-second comeback.
On a team where the underclassmen outnumber the upperclassmen by a ratio of almost two to one, wins may be just as hard to come by for Tennessee this season.
“Because of our youth, they’re not going to show up the first game and be all-conference players,” Dooley said at SEC Media Days. “But if they have the right mindset of coming in every day with a relentless pursuit of continuous improvement, then we’ll get Tennessee back to what the standard is.”
Offense: Tyler Bray was one of the more pleasant surprises of 2010, throwing for 1,849 yards and 18 touchdowns while leading the Volunteers to wins in their final three conference matchups.
Aggressive and fearless, Bray has shown an ability to generate explosive plays, but still has to prove that he can be a productive quarterback in the SEC now that opponents have gotten a look at him.
“He’s made a tremendous investment in getting better, having a better command of the offense, being able to make better decisions, put our offenses in better positions,” Dooley said. “So as long as he continues on that track of improvement, I think we’re all going to be impressed with what Tyler’s production is.”
Running back Tauren Poole, who rushed for 1,034 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2010, returns after an inconsistent junior year where he rushed for just 23 yards on two separate occasions after a season-high 162 yards against Oregon.
“We’re not going to be a good football team if Tauren is not productive for us,” Dooley said. “We’re not going to be a good offense. We need him to be consistent, productive, and I know he’s committed to doing that.”
Defense: Tennessee will be missing some key pieces from last year’s defense, returning only one player of the front seven. The dismissal of junior tackle Montori Hughes earlier this summer left another hole along an already dotted defensive line.
“Defense is a little bit like offense was a year ago,” Dooley said. “In this league, as we all know, if you don’t have a good front seven, a productive front seven, you’re going to have a tough time week in and week out. We’re going to have to figure out and emerge who are going to be our players that are going to make a difference for us.”
Malik Jackson, who posted a team-high five sacks last season, will be the leader among a cast of new players that includes transfer Maurice Couch.
“A lot of the young guys don’t know what to expect, so we’ve got to get them going and get them in place,” Jackson said at SEC Media Days. “They’re learning as fast as they can. The seniors and older guys are trying to teach them. Until they get to the first game they probably won’t know how hard it is. But they’re coming along well.”
Special Teams: Tennessee will be breaking in a new punter and kicker this fall. Sophomore Michael Palardy has some experience as a backup at both positions, though he missed two of his seven field goal attempts last season. Da’Rick Rogers , a versatile athlete who took over as the Volunteers’ primary kick returner in the middle of the 2010 season, will look to duplicate a solid freshman season this fall, while the position of punt returner is still anyone’s to claim.
Schedule Analysis: A brutal midseason stretch awaits Tennessee, as the Volunteers host Georgia and LSU in consecutive weeks before traveling to Alabama, then return home to face South Carolina. Road trips to Florida and Arkansas also loom large, but a nonconference schedule that includes Montana and Middle Tennessee provides some relief from overwhelming SEC opponents. Tennessee closes out its season with a home game against Vanderbilt and a road trip to Kentucky, providing an opportunity to finish the year on a positive note.
The final word: “What I felt like was important when we turned the page from last year was we had to ... make a decision from the beginning that we weren’t going to allow youth to be an excuse for failure. And we’re not going to do that. I feel very good about the talent level of our young players, and how quickly they become every-down-dependable players in the SEC will determine what our success is on the field.” — Dooley
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