2018 Tennessee football preview

Before 2017, the last time Tennessee football won zero SEC games was in 1943, when the school didn’t have a football team. The Vols hired former Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt to piece together the shards of a program that was ranked in the top 10 as recently as two falls ago.

Players quickly found Pruitt’s reputation as a no-nonsense, demanding disciplinarian to be well-founded, and they know they’re expected to hold themselves and each other accountable.

“Everybody has an understanding (of the coaches’ expectations),” Pruitt said this summer at SEC Media Days. “And if somebody’s not meeting the expectations, you’ve got to be able to confront them and get it fixed or they’re going to continue to do the same thing.”

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano played in nine games last year and did a serviceable job with all things considered. Stanford graduate transfer Keller Chryst arrived to bring experience (23 career games played) and depth to the position.

Losing running back John Kelly will hurt, as he had more than twice as many carries as any other player and also tied for the team lead in receptions. However, the Vols return a trio of wideouts who are least 6-foot-2 and a pair of starting offensive linemen, so the foundation is there to be built upon.

A brutal four-game stretch in the middle of the schedule (Sept. 29 to Oct. 27) will reveal the extent to which the culture has changed and how much work remains to be done.

2018 schedule
Sept. 1 – West Virginia (Charlotte)
Sept. 8 – East Tennessee State
Sept. 15 – UTEP
Sept. 22 – Florida
Sept. 29 – at Georgia
Oct. 13 – at Auburn
Oct. 20 – Alabama
Oct. 27 – at South Carolina
Nov. 3 – Charlotte
Nov. 10 – Kentucky
Nov. 17 – Missouri
Nov. 24 – at Vanderbilt

2017 record: 4-8 (0-8 conf./7th in SEC East)
All-time SEC championships: 13
All-time bowl appearances: 52 (28-24)

2017 results
Sept. 4 – Georgia Tech* – W 42-41
Sept. 9 – Indiana State – W 42-7
Sept. 16 – at Florida – L 26-20
Sept. 23 – UMass – W 17-13
Sept. 30 – Georgia – L 41-0
Oct. 14 – South Carolina – L 15-9
Oct. 21 – at Alabama – L 45-7
Oct. 28 – at Kentucky – L 29-26
Nov. 4 – Southern Miss – W 24-10
Nov. 11 – at Missouri – L 50-17
Nov. 18 – LSU – L 30-10
Nov. 25 – Vanderbilt – L 42-24
*Atlanta

Returning statistical leaders

Rushing – Att – Yards – Avg – TD
Ty Chandler – 71 – 305 – 4.3 – 2
Passing – Comp – Att – INT – TD – Yards
Jarrett Guarantano – 86-139 – 2 – 4 – 997
Receiving – Rec – Yards – Avg – TD
Brandon Johnson – 37 – 482 – 13.0 – 1
Tackles – Total – INT – Sacks – TFL
Daniel Bituli – 90 – 1 – 0 – 3

Starters returning: 13
Offense: 6
Defense: 7
Specialty: 0

Starters lost: 13
Offense: 5
Defense: 6
Specialty: 2

Returning offensive starters: Jarrett Guarantano (QB, R-So.), Marquez Callaway (WR, Jr.), Brandon Johnson (WR, Jr.), Josh Palmer (WR, So.), Trey Smith (OL, So.), Drew Richmond (OL, R-Jr.)

Returning defensive starters: Darrell Taylor (LB, R-Jr.), Jonathan Kongbo (LB, R-Sr.), Kyle Phillips (DL, Sr.), Daniel Bituli (LB, Jr.), Quart’e Sapp (LB, R-Jr.), Nigel Warrior (DB, Jr.), Micah Abernathy (DB, Sr.)