Scouting the opponent: Appalachian State

After going 11-2 last season, with the two losses being to Clemson and Arkansas State, Appalachian State will roll into Knoxville Thursday night Sept. 1 with a lot of confidence.

The Mountaineers are no strangers to shocking the world, as their win at Michigan is still a reference point for all coaches when they are heavy favorites.

Even so, the Vols, with so much hype, will be the heavy favorites in the season opener.

But a closer look at the Mountaineers shows this isn't a lay down opener for Tennessee.

The Mountaineers return an offensive backfield that found productivity each and every week. Tailback Marcus Cox is the workhorse as he racked up 1,423 yards on the ground in 2015.

Taylor Lamb returns at quarterback and the three year starter had his best season in 2015. The Georgia native threw for 2,387 yards and 31 touchdowns while running for 436 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Against Clemson last year, Lamb was just 9 of 28 for 95 yards with 3 interceptions and a touchdown in his worst outing of the season. Lamb did throw multiple touchdowns in 10 games last season and had at least one completion of 30 yards or more 10 games last season as the Mountaineer high-octane offense scored an impressive 58 touchdowns.

Cox, however, does the heavy lifting, as evidenced by his 243 rushing attempts a season ago, including a 100-yard day at Clemson.

Up front Appy State returns three starters on the offensive line in a group that only gave up 11 sacks last year.

The biggest offensive question for the Mountaineers is wide receiver production as they lost three of their top four receivers.

The other question mark is at placekicker where Zach Matics is gone following a 14-for-17 season. The responsibility now likely falls on a freshman.

For as fun as the Appalachian State offense was in 2015, the defense was really impressive. The 2015 unit ranked 11th nationally in total defense and they have nine starters back from that group

It's an aggressive, blitzing defense that netted 98 tackles for loss a season ago, including 36 sacks. They had 15 of those sacks in the last three regular season games.

The Mountaineers return their top two tacklers from 2015, inside linebackers Eric Boggs (104 tackles, 4 sacks, 7.5 TFLs) and John Law (72 tackles, 4 sacks, 9.5 TFLs). The two inside linebackers are considered the heartbeat of Appalachian State's 3-4 defense.

But, the defense will have to replace big production from defensive end Roland Blair. Blair had 7.5 sacks and 19 total TFL's a season ago.

The defense also forced turnovers in recording 18 interceptions.

Latrell Gibbs is one of the best cornerbacks in non-Power 5 football. Gibbs finished the season with seven interceptions and returned two of those for touchdowns. But, Gibbs was ruled academically ineligible for the 2016 season and the Vols won't see one of App State's best defenders.

The Mountaineers are an athletic team with some talent. Their head coach, Scott Satterfield, is an up-and-coming coach that's going to be on some school's short list if Appy State lives up to its billing.

Coming off an impressive 11-win season, that included a bowl win, there's no doubt big things are expected this season in Boone, N.C., including a visit from Miami.

And while the Mountaineers can cause some problems, a closer look at how they matched-up with Clemson a season ago is a reminder that if the Vols are poised and ready to play then they should take care of business on a Thursday night and quickly turn their focus to what's an unusual trip to Bristol to take on Virginia Tech.