Tennessee Football Program Roadmap

tsweezy · May 22, 2022

From the desk of AD / Head coach tsweezy

Hello to all of Volunteer nation! It's been a long offseason, but the start of the year is finally in sight. Rest assured, this program has been working HARD over the last few months to prepare for 2022, and I think the fans deserve to get a little look at the inner workings of this program. Let me take you on a trip through the past, present, and championship-winning future of the Tennessee football program.

The Past - 2021

Preseason

2021 marked the first season of play for the Tennessee program. Unfortunately, I was not on board from day 1, and my predecessor was in charge of picking our initial roster which was... fine. The initial draft order had Tennessee in 29th, part of bucket 2 and 6th in the SEC. Once I was brought on board though, I liked what I saw from both the fanbase and the team. We had A players, at WR, C, ILB, CB, and FB and an overall well rounded team.

We went 34-17 in preseason scrimmages as we started to build up our expectations and experiment with different position battles. The biggest outcome from this time was benching our presumed starting QB Stevie Ryan (Scrambler) for the pocket QB Cedric Marsh due to his extremely impressive performances. To his credit Stevie was nothing but supportive throughout the season. After these scrimmages, the computer poll put us in an 18-way tie for 25th, projecting to finish between 25-42nd this year. Overall, projections had us somewhere in the ~30s nationally and 4-7th in the SEC likely finishing with 7 or 8 wins.

Redshirts

We wound up redshirting the maximum 16 players below, who should factor heavily into our future plans with the extra year of development.

QB [scrambler] Jay Ratley 6-0 214 Fr. C
RB [balanced] Luis Ibaka 5-11 198 So. C
TE [blocking] Kendrick Mateo 6-6 259 Fr. C
WR [Possession] Matt Siri 6-2 188 Jr. B
WR [Route Runner] Hayes Edwards 5-8 173 So. B
CB [Man Coverage] Zach Cabinda 6-1 190 Jr. B
CB [Zone Coverage] Steve White 6-0 180 Fr. C
FS [ballhawk] Matt Richardson 5-11 190 Fr. B
SS [Man Coverage] Jawun Burfict 5-11 201 Fr. C
OLB [speed] Albert Falu 6-1 229 Fr. C
ILB [Field General] Seth Blanding 6-1 232 Fr. C
DE [speed Rusher] Matthew Cano 6-5 240 So. B
DE [balanced] Mike Anderson 6-3 272 So. C
DT [Nose Tackle] Steve Markkanen 6-3 301 Jr. B
OT [Run Blocking] Chris Howard 6-2 298 Jr. B
OT [Pass Blocking] Jhonatan Perry 6-4 296 Fr. C

Finally, the inaugural season begins:

Season Results

Week	Opponent	Result	Ranking at game-time
1	Syracuse	31-3	UNR
2	Memphis	51-21	23
3	Maryland	21-38	10
4	South Carolina	20-31	14
5	at Florida	49-14	UNR
6	Vanderbilt	14-7	UNR
7	at Missouri	19-17	UNR
8	Ole Miss	27-14	UNR
11	Georgia	30-24	23
12	at Kentucky	16-38	16
13	at Clemson	41-23	25
14	at Alabama	20-16	UNR
Bowl Week 3: Texas Bowl	Kansas State	38-10	18

No postseason poll, but Tennessee finished 10-3 with a Texas bowl victory, a 4-1 rivalry game record (Alabama, Vanderbilt, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky), and a pre-bowl ranking of 18th. Elo liked us slightly less, slotting us in at 23rd, but overall this was a good season with a pair of early losses before we found our footing and played our hearts out finishing 3rd in the conference. A great job considering where we started and initial talent level!

SEC Standings

West	Conf Record	Overall Record	East	Conf Record	Overall Record
#13 Alabama x	7-2	11-3	#2 Kentucky x$	9-0	14-1
#21 Texas A&M	6-2	10-3	#18 Tennessee	6-2	10-3
Mississippi State	5-3	9-4	Missouri	5-3	9-4
Auburn	4-4	7-6	Florida	4-4	5-7
Arkansas	3-5	5-7	South Carolina	2-6	5-7
Ole Miss	3-5	4-8	Georgia	1-7	1-11
LSU	1-7	3-9	Vanderbilt	1-7	1-11

Awards

SEC All-Conference:

WR Ray-Ray Thompson - 1st team

QB Cedric Marsh - 2nd team

ILB Joe Jones - 2nd team

Team MVP

Who else could this be? QB Cedric Marsh.

Cedric was the engine for our team. After the first few scrimmages, we were a little uneasy about the direction our team was going with Stevie Ryan at the helm. Having Cedric step in was the single biggest influence taking us from a likely .500 season to a ~top-15 performance and double digit wins. He passed for over 4000 yards and 38 TDs and while he did have 20 INTs, I could not in good conscience call anybody else our team MVP. We are sad to see him graduate, but very thankful for his performance this year.

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Team OPOTY

WR Ray-Ray Thompson - Speed - 141 targets, 89 catches, 1849 receiving yards, 19 TDs, 702 KR yards, 922 PR yards

Ray-Ray was the most electric player on the team this season. He was 10th in the nation in receiving yards, T-5th in receiving TDs, and 11th in Punt return yards on his way to being a first round draft pick. He headlined the passing attack which was a pretty big strength of Tennessee, and his leadership at WR1 played a big part in some of the thrilling big plays that led directly to several wins.

Team DPOTY

SS Zac Hill - Zone Coverage - 59 Tackles, 5 TFL, 1 FR, 3 Interceptions.

Zac performed extremely well this season as one of the leaders of the defense. Tennessee was 5th in the NATION in passing yards allowed, and a big part of that was Zac being able to erase any mistakes in front of him and prevent big gains. He also led the team with 3 interceptions demonstrating his knack for the ball. While he didn't receive many accolades, he is returning for his senior year looking to be the lynchpin of the defense and will likely be a team captain this upcoming season.

Team Freshman of the Year

CB Ben Jordan - Zone Coverage

A fairly obvious awardee, Ben was the only one of the 24 freshman to record a stat with 6 tackles in 133 snaps over 6 games. Only a 3 star recruit with a C overall rating, he was slotted as CB5 and performed well in his playing time. Not the most impressive showing but it was slim pickings as 2021's squad was led by upperclassmen.

Team Captains

QB Stevie Ryan

WR Alex Henderson

CB Danilo Shakir

OG Senio Figaro

DE Hector Levrone

Departures

A special goodbye to our senior QBs. Stevie Ryan was the presumptive starter, but in fall camp Cedric Marsh proved to jive better with our offensive identity. Despite that, Stevie never once gave up. He pushed all of us as best he could in practice and was 110% committed to our team's success. Cedric deserves his accolades for a program record-setting year, but we also want to congratulate Stevie for being the best teammate we could ask for.

Total departures:

11 starters (5 offense, 6 defense)

4 A overalls, 16 B overalls, 3 C overalls

POS	Name	Stars	Potential	Overall	Snaps	Stat Lines	Depth Chart
OG	Senio Figaro	2	B	B	894		Starting RG
QB	Cedric Marsh	2	B-	B	1333	260/451 4334 yards, 38-20 TD/INT, 1 RF	Starting QB
CB	Danilo Shakir	3	A	A	809	21 tackles, 1 FF, 1 RF, 1 INT	Starting CB
DE	Hector Levrone	3	B-	B	797	44 tackles, 4 assist, 12 TFL, 1 sack	Starting RE
DE	Mike Manship	3	B	B	807	40 tackles, 8 assist, 13 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 FF	Starting LE
DT	Nikola Simmons	3	C+	B	803	51 Tackles, 1 Assist, 6 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 RF	2nd DT
OLB	Aaron Grube	3	B-	B	694	41 Tackles, 7 Assisted, 6 TFL, 1 FF, 1 INT	Starting ROLB
FB	Cody Peterson	4	B+	A	484	9 Rushes - 30 Yards, 6/13 catching, 67 yards	Starting FB
ILB	Joe Jones	4	B	A	846	56 tackles, 2 assist, 15 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 FF	Starting MLB
TE	Tyler Locastro	4	B-	B	883	46/77 catches, 555 yards, 2 TDs	Starting TE
WR	Ray-Ray Thompson	4	B	A	1313	89/141 catching, 1849 yards, 19 TDs, 1 RF, 702 KR yards, 69 PR for 922 yards	2nd WR, PR, KR

Draft

Ray-Ray Thompson: Rd 1 pick 20 to WAS

UDFA

ILB Joe Jones - BUF

CB Danilo Shakir - DEN

Recruiting Recap

Class of 2022

Stars	Overall	Position	Name	Archetype	Potential	2022 Plans
4	B	DE	Douglas Dimmadome Jr.	Balanced	B+	Redshirt
5	B	QB	Brandon Savage	Pocket	C+	Starting QB
4	B	DT	Johnathan Sowell	Nose Tackle	B-	Redshirt
4	B	RB	Joe Williams	Receiving	B-	RB2
4	B	CB	Justin Gsellman	Zone Coverage	C+	Redshirt
4	B	OT	Myles Hernandez	Pass Blocking	C+	Redshirt
4	B	SS	Brandon Duffey	Man Coverage	C+	Redshirt
4	B	WR	Alex Smith-Schuster	Possesion	C+	Redshirt
4	B	CB	Lorenzo Travis	Zone Coverage	C	CB5
4	B	WR	Quincy Stanton	Route Runner	C	Redshirt
4	B	OT	Garrett Lazard	Pass Blocking	D+	Backup
3	C	FS	Mike De Leon	Ball Hawk	A	Redshirt
3	C	DE	Kiko Garcia	Speed Rusher	B+	Redshirt
3	C	DT	Brad Johnson	Balanced	B+	Backup
3	C	ILB	Jake Dozier	Speed	B+	Redshirt
4	C	OG	Steven Henry	Run Blocking	C+	Redshirt
3	C	OLB	Yasmani Bradberry	Speed	B+	Redshirt
4	C	P	Marcus Jackson	Accuracy	C+	Starting P
4	C	RB	Jose Bandy	Receiving	C+	Redshirt
4	C	C	Marcus Morrow	Balanced	C	Redshirt
4	C	ILB	Jonathan Adames	Coverage	C	Backup
3	C	K	Marquez Garces	Power	B	Backup
4	C	OLB	Henry Andriese	Coverage	C	Backup
4	C	OT	Ricky Drummond	Balanced	C	Redshirt
4	C	ILB	Joe Lawson	Field General	C-	Redshirt

247 rank: 1st

ESPN rank: 1st

Rivals rank: 1st

Composite rank: 1st

Blue chips (4 and 5 stars): 19 (1st)

Highlights:

We were Extremely pleased with this years recruiting class. We hit almost every position, building a huge base for the future. Most importantly we got our QB of the future: Elite 11 MVP, 5 star Brandon Savage who is THE most important recruit in program history with Cedric graduating. Somehow fortune smiled on the Volunteers with the #1 QB in this class hailing from just down the road in Decatur, TN. I would put this recruiting class up against any in sim history, and think it will be the engine for a 2024/2025 playoff run if we can sustain this recruiting momentum through at least next year.

Overall, This is treated as a foundation class but not generally one that will have instant impact. We expect to redshirt 16/25 players, with 2 starters, 1 rotational player, and 6 backups.

The Present - 2022

Schedule

Week	Opponent	Notes
1	Bowling Green	7-6 last year, 2nd best recruit class
2	Florida State	15-1 last year, national runner up
3	Utah State	7-6 last year
4	at South Carolina	5-7 last year, currently coachless
5	at Liberty	3-9 last year, currently coachless
6	Alabama	11-3 last year, SEC Runner up, currently coachless
7	Missouri	9-4 last year, X recruiting class
8	at LSU	3-9 last year
9	Florida	5-7 last year, new coach Weeze
10	BYE	Finally a rest!
11	at Georgia	1-11 last year
12	Kentucky	14-1 last year, national semifinalist
13	BYE
14	at Vanderbilt	1-11, Vanderbilt delenda est

Total opponent performance last year: 81-75, average elo of 59th, average 2022 team roster ranking of 49th.

Projected Roster

Offense:

Brandon Savage has a great arm and should be able to make any throw on the field. He also has an extremely strong and deep WR core to throw to, the only negatives in the passing attack are the potential lack of a speed WR, and lack of experience from Brandon/proclivity to take sacks instead of throwing the ball away

On the ground, Aldrick looks like a solid feature back capable of taking over a game, although perhaps not challenging for awards. Joe Williams offers a good change of pace receiving option to mix things up as well.

We even have a solid pair of tight ends, both blocking and receiving, that can mix and match as the situation requires.

On the offensive line, the two best players are both centers, so we wound up shuffling our best overall lineman (C Noah Prater) to left tackle to get our best 5 starters who should be an above average group.

Overall, I have a lot of faith in our offense to score points on almost anybody this season once they get into a groove, although not quite built to put up 50+.

Defense:

On the flipside, I am not quite as confident in our defense. In fact we are still debating whether to go 3-4 or 4-3 as a defense. The defensive ends Max Bradberry and Ian Merritt are capable enough, but not game breakers by any stretch of the imagination. We have a pretty ok DT and ILB squad up the middle, headlined by DT Steve Markkanen and ILB JT Adams who are the best players in the front 7. OLB is the site of a position battle as we debate whether we want speed and coverage or pass rushing abilities. I think overall, our run defense will be up to snuff but we need to be a little bit creative in where we generate our pass rush from.

In the backend, we have a pair of quite good man corners in Francis Horst and Zach Cabinda, who likely won't come down with a lot of INTs, but should perform well enough to not be gouged. The safeties though are quite good with team leader Zac Hill at SS and a battle between Matt Richardson and Joe Solder at FS with the loser likely being CB3 or 4. I think it will be extremely hard to go deep against us so we will likely give up a pretty high yards : points ratio.

Special Teams:

Mediocre here. Two kickers who are both 1/2 of a good kicker, having either good kick power or kick accuracy makes a choose your own poison option. And while we got a pretty solid P prospect this class, as a true freshman I don't expect him to light the world on fire.

Potential Position Battles:

K Saeed Smith vs. Tre Trinnaman

A classic battle of power vs. accuracy, we'll probably rotate both kickers throughout the year and see how often we need long kicks vs. how rought the shorter attempts are. Maybe we'll even run more 4th down conversions

OLB Montrezl Link vs. Albert Falu

Do we need a pass rusher or more speed at OLB? They are both pretty similar in talent and again may rotate them out depending on matchup.

RB Joe Williams vs. J.C. Hardy

Another close battle. True freshman Joe Williams is a really good receiving threat out of the backfield while J.C. Hardy is better at rushing. We will likely try to get Joe on the field more often to mix it up, but if he can't handle blocking duties or has fumble issues he may get more of a hook while J.C. is the primary backup to take over lead duties if Aldrick goes down.

Potential Redshirts:

Assuming we get 16 redshirts as we did last year, they are all currently earmarked for our incoming recruiting class as shown in the recruiting class table.

Preseason Talent Rankings

Blue chip prospects: 30 (1st, although 19 of them are freshman so not hugely impactful this year)

A overalls: 5 (28-way tie for 53rd)

Combined A and B overalls: 54 (3-way tie for 3rd)

Starting team talent overall: 44th

Offensive skill positions: 6th

Offensive line: 78th

Offense overall: 13th

Defensive line: 59th

Defensive secondary: 51st

Defense overall: 100th

Special teams: 34th

TL;DR Names to Know

QB Brandon Savage - Obvious here, superstar true frosh starting day 1. Could have some growing pains but the talent is undeniable.

RB Aldrick Ynoa - The headliner on the ground game, Aldrick is actually quite talented in his own right and can take the pressure off Brandon when needed.

WR Alex Henderson - Number 1 WR coming off a very impressive year last year now the unquestioned star after Ray-Ray graduated.

C Noah Prater (LT) - Most talented player on the roster. Being moved away from his natural center position to lockdown the Left Tackle slot in a push for a high draft grade.

SS Zac Hill - last years team DPOTY, back again as the eraser to cap any big plays by opponents.

2022 Scrimmage results

New Mexico - Win 31-27, held off a 17-0 4th quarter surge from New Mexico. Brandon had a great debut going 18-26 for 358 yards, 1:1 TD:INT, although he did take 3 sacks. RB Aldrick Ynoa took a heavy role running for 221 yards and 3 TDs as the real game MVP. Freshman Joe Williams also looked good getting 38 yards on 6 carries. Defensively Montrezl Link got a sack pushing him up in his position battle although as a whole the defense was a bit lackluster giving up ~425 yards of offense in a true bend-don't-break performance. 8 Penalties and the rough 4th quarter performance don't speak well to our team stamina or discipline, so we may need to do a little more conditioning after practice each day.

Alabama - Loss 0-42, no way to sugarcoat this, it was an embarrassment. I tweaked some things in the gameplan to try some new targets, depths, defensive strategies, etc.. and it all blew up in my face. Immediately reverting those changes for the real season, oof.

Season predictions and goals / expected wins

This year is not going to be the year we reach the playoffs or win the SEC. We are just too inexperienced and have a bit of a lack of high end talent across the roster. In addition, we need to adapt our offense to Brandon Savage and look to build for the future. I think our OOC is quite ambitious with a toss-up game against Bowling Green and a probable loss to Florida State. We scored a nice upset against Alabama last season, but wouldn't count on it this season, as well as still being a cut below Kentucky (even without Rashaan). I think the ceiling is another 9-3 season and the floor is 6-6 with my expectation being to finish 8-4 and 4th or 5th in the SEC.

The Future - 2023 and Beyond

Departures

After this season we will be saying goodbye to 20 current seniors. Of those 20 players, 11 of them are currently penciled in as starters with 2 other rotational players. Having to replace half our team next year is going to be tough as we lose 4 of our 5 A overalls and 11 Bs including our star C Noah Prater, both starting DEs, RB Aldrick Ynoa, SS Zac Hill, and WR Alex Henderson, some of the most impactful guys on the roster.

We're going to be expecting a big step up from a lot of players, and 2023 should be the year for super sophs (or radical redshirt freshmen) as our 2022 class will have plenty of starting positions open for the taking.

After projected progressions, I expect us to end up with somewhere between 6 and 10 A overalls on the roster, so theoretically it should be more talented, with a very good DL, a good passing attack and OL, and then a smattering of other pieces in the high B range. This is the year that we should start trying to pick up a win against Kentucky and contend for the division, although perhaps not yet a playoff spot.