The Tennessee Volunteers last season finished with a 9-4 record overall and a 4-4 record in SEC Conference play. Tennessee faced the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Citrus Bowl last season and won that game 35-0. This season, the Volunteers feel like they can accomplish much more things.
With the college football playoffs expanding, there is a chance that the Tennessee Volunteers could crash the party. Josh Heupel is the head coach for Tennessee. Everyone is predicting teams like the Georgia Bulldogs, the Missouri Tigers, the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Texas Longhorns, and the Ole Miss Rebels to be playoff teams, but don’t forget about the Volunteers.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Shepard Thinks That the Tennessee Volunteers Will Have the Best Offense In the SEC This Season
There are a lot of talented teams in the SEC Conference entering the 2024 season. The LSU Tigers, the Georgia Bulldogs, and the Ole Miss Rebels were the top offensive teams in the conference in 2023. The Texas Longhorns are also very lethal offensively and they come from the BIG12 Conference.
Brad Shepard of Bleacher Report thinks that the Tennessee Volunteers will have the best offense in the conference this season. Shepard said:
“Remember two years ago when Hendon Hooker was patrolling the Tennessee Volunteers’ backfield and the offense went at warp speed? That’s kind of what coach Josh Heupel envisions this season.
Last year, Joe Milton III didn’t survey the field nearly as quickly as his predecessor, and Tennessee struggled to make explosive passing plays after Bru McCoy was lost for the season and Dont’e Thornton didn’t live up to what they’d hoped for after the Vols got him from the transfer portal.
Neither will be the case this season.
Everybody is excited to see redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava lead the offense, and even if he’s not perfect, his athleticism can make up for some of the missteps. With McCoy back and Thornton flashing again, the receiving corps should be the deepest in the SEC.
Tulane transfer Chris Brazzell II, Squirrel White and several others could have big years. Tennessee upgraded the tight end room in a big way, and the return of all-purpose back Dylan Sampson could mean another blazing offense.
The Vols need to stay healthy along the offensive front, but with LSU having to replace Jayden Daniels, UT will light up the scoreboard with the best of them. Georgia, Alabama and Texas could just as easily make this list, too.
But you never count out Heupel’s offense, and Iamaleava is the perfect maestro.”
A season ago, the Tennessee Volunteers had the seventh-ranked offense in the SEC Conference. They averaged 31.8 PPG and 448.1 yards per game. Nico Iamaleava is a player that a lot of people will want to tune into and see. He got his feet as the starting quarterback against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Iamaleava last season completed 62.2% of his passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns. He was one of the top quarterback recruits for the Tennessee Volunteers a couple of years ago. Nico Iamaleava could be a dark horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy this season and could be one of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Favorable Schedule
The Tennessee Volunteers will not have a buzzsaw of a schedule in the SEC Conference this season. They will open up the season at home on Saturday against the Chattanooga Macs. Tennessee’s three toughest conference games this season will be at #16 Oklahoma Sooners on 9/21, vs #5 Alabama Crimson Tide on 10/19, and at #1 Georgia Bulldogs on 11/16.
The Tennessee Volunteers are ranked #15 in the country to start the 2024 college football season. Because of the offensive potential of the Volunteers this season, Bleacher Report also has the Volunteers finishing with a 10-2 record overall and a 6-2 record in conference play.
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