At 'first glance,' Vols on pace eight games in

The Tennessee Volunteers, under first-year head coach Josh Heupel, are about where we thought they’d be eight games into the season.

UT sits with a 4-4 record and 2-3 inside Southeastern Conference play entering a much-needed BYE week. The wins have come against Bowling Green, Tennessee Tech, Missouri and South Carolina. The losses were handed out by Pittsburgh, Florida, Ole Miss and Alabama.

The Vols have played three teams who are currently ranked inside the AP Top-25 poll while Florida, who as ranked at the time in week 5, are still receiving votes. In week 9 of the poll, Alabama is the No. 3 team in the country, Ole Miss is No. 10 and Pittsburgh is all the way up to No. 17.

Tennessee still has No. 12 Kentucky and top-ranked Georgia to go.

But if we sat back in July and projected where this team might be two-thirds of the way through the 2021 schedule, most would have said exactly this: 4-4 (2-3) with wins against teams you expected and losses coming to programs who are ahead.

Understandably, Pittsburgh and Missouri were tossups to many.

The difference in the win-loss column compared to the stat sheet sparks up some great conversation, however, as Tennessee is excelling in many areas.

The Vols have found a quarterback and have a home run tailback to his side. Cedric Tillman has emerged as a reliable option after being silent his first three years in the program. JaVonta Payton is a clear deep-threat option and Velus Jones has transitioned into a decent all-around option at wide out.

Defensively, what Tim Banks and staff have done is nothing short of impressive. After being gutted by the transfer portal this offseason, the Tennessee defense has been respectable and even impressive in some areas. I don’t think anyone would have picked Jeremy Banks and Theo Jackson to be the leaders in the barrage, either.

What has Tennessee's offense and defense looked like on paper and how does it stack up to others around the league and country? Nothing has been perfect, but through eight games, you might be surprised.

Heupel’s reputation coming to Knoxville was that of tempo and points. Eight games into his inaugural season, it’s not been a disappointment.

Tennessee’s offensive averages 37 points a game – up two touchdowns from last year -- for fourth-best in the SEC. The 457 yards of total offense fifth-best in the league while the Vols tally a top-five rushing attack with 226 yards an outing.

UT is among the nation leaders in plays per minute and have scored on 30-of-33 redzone opportunities. Heupel’s group tallies the fourth-fewest turnovers (7) in conference and manages 24 first downs a contest.

Where it struggles, however, is protecting the quarterback. Tennessee has given up 28 sacks in eight games – a Power 5 conference worst and fifth-worst in the country. Time of possession will never be a statistic Tennessee wins, simply on the nature of the offense. The Vols are possessing the football at just 25 minutes a game.

It helps when you have a good quarterback and Tennessee has that in Hendon Hooker. The Virginia Tech transfer registers a 179.9 quarter rating, which is third-best in the country. The senior has thrown for 17 touchdowns to just two interceptions and is completing passes at a 68 percent clip.

Hooker is also second in rushing on the team with 518 yards gained with four touchdowns.

Tiyon Evans has been better than imaged when coming from junior college with a lot of question marks. Nick Saban described the running back as Tennessee’s ‘best offensive player’ as the junior has accounted for 516 yards on the ground with six scores in six games. He’s averaging an impressive 6.5 yards a carry.

Starter Jabari Small, who has also missed two games, has been steady with 332 rushing yards and three touchdowns while averaging 4.6 yards a tote. Underclassmen Jaylen Wright and Len’Neth Whitehead have also accounted for meaningful snaps – as has walk-on Marcus Peirce.

Tennessee has a clear direction in the passing game with Payton starring in the highlight reel. The ‘super senior’ transfer from Mississippi State only has 12 receptions on the season, but is averaging 23 yards a catch and has found the end zone on five occasions. He’s one of the better deep-threat options in the country right now.

Tillman is your possession receiver who boasts nearly identical numbers to Jones, who is used all over. The 6-foot-3 outside target tallies 30 receptions for 446 yards and four touchdowns while the speedy Jones has a team-leading 31 catches for 453 yards and four touchdowns mostly out of the slot.

Tight end Jacob Warren has two touchdown receptions on the season as he and Princeton Fant are relied on heavily in the run-game. Jalin Hyatt, Jimmy Calloway and Evans have also scored once through the air.

It’s not been perfect and Heupel will be the first to say it. But the offense has been a breath of fresh air and has shown the ability to score at will, at times. This type of offense gives Tennessee the opportunity to hang around in any game.

I don’t think anyone expected the defense to play as well as it has thus far. Of course, it’s not perfect and showcases many flaws. But picture yourself back in the spring and what your expectations were for this unit. They’ve far surpassed the majority of those expectations, haven’t they?

Again, it’s been far from perfect, and Tennessee has struggled in certain areas all year long. The last two weeks in particular have been rough on third downs with mobile quarterbacks. But the Vols give themselves a chance in every game because they rally to the football and have responded well to coaching.

Don’t believe me?

Jeremy Banks is arguably the best player on this defense and has improved greatly from year’s past. His play is leading the charge in tackles (60), tackles for loss (9) and sacks (4.5) from the middle linebacker position.

Aaron Beasley has improved as well and can be considered a reliable guy in this defense, though the limitations are there. Solon Page has acted as the key backup and has seen a bevy of significant action. What position coach Brian Jean-Mary has done with these three is truly incredible – having no choice to play anyone else due to the lack of depth behind.

If not Banks, it’s certainly been Theo Jackson as the squad’s best player. Before missing some time against Alabama and the entire South Carolina game, Jackson led the team in most defensive categories. He’s been a stalwart at the STAR position with 49 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and nine pass breakups - and is clearly one of the leaders of this team.

Jaylen McCollough, through struggles at times this season, leads the team with three interceptions while Alontae Taylor and Trevon Flowers have provided great run support from the back-end. Tennessee has tallied 10 takeaways this season with six picks coming from the secondary group.

What’s been Tennessee’s greatest improvement? It’s been the defensive line coached by Rodney Garner.

Matthew Butler is turning into a feasible NFL talent with three sacks and 6.5 TFLs. Edge players Tyler Baron and Byron Young have made a home in opponents’ backfields, combining for 10 TFLs and 3.5 sacks. Ja’Quain Blakely, Omari Thomas, DJ Terry and Caleb Tremblay have all contributed regularly, as well – allowing that group to stay fresh as the game goes on.

The defense isn’t breaking any records by any stretch of the imagination. It’s still giving up nearly 400 yards of total offense a game with 26 points on average. A lot of that has come the past two weeks as Ole Miss and Alabama have combined to run 193 offensive plays.

But the Vols rally to the football and play team defense. Nothing proves that point more than a nation’s leading 70 TFL stat. It also took eight games for an opposing running back to hit the century mark on the ground.

Tennessee has a long way to go to be where Heupel wants it to be. There’s at least one more [likely] loss on the schedule with Georgia coming up in three weeks – and that follows what should be a dogfight in Lexington next Saturday.

But with four games remaining, the Volunteers can still get a whole lot better.

Regardless, Tennessee is on pace for what many had hoped this season would be. You could argue its excelling in some as well. I think we can all agree, it's been fun to watch.