– Last Updated on August 24, 2018 11:31 am
2018 Football Preview – SEC – Volunteers
Looking for 2018 Tennessee Volunteers predictions? The Volunteers and their devoted fanbase weren’t singing “Rocky Top” very often last season. The 2017 campaign was, in a word, awful. The Vols finished with just four wins and the once-proud football program was winless in SEC play. In comes a new coach and a slate of new recruits and transfers; it’ll take everyone circling the wagons and fulfilling their potential for UT to make a tangible jump in a very strong football conference.
NCAA Football Gambling Lines
2018-19 College Football Preview – Tennessee Volunteers
Head Coach: Jeremy Pruitt
2017 Record: 4-8
Tennessee Volunteers Odds to win the 2018 FBS Championship: +25000
Updated Sportsbook Bonuses For Today
***More 2018 NCAA Football Team Season Previews***
The time is now for this Fighting Irish team to win. Can Brian Kelly deliver?
2018 Tennessee Volunteers Predictions: Team Strengths
Electric Sticky Mitties: The Vols have promising options at wide receiver, which will help in the switch over to a pro-style offense. Brandon Johnson and Marquez Callaway are two juniors with good size (both going about 6″2, 195 lbs) and athleticism.
The unit will be further boosted if Jauan Jennings, a prodigious talent that was kicked off the team last year but given conditions for his return, is in the fold. JUCO transfer Dominick Wood-Anderson is expected to start at TE, and also offers promise. All in all, it’s a good pass-catching corps if the pivots can take advantage of it.
Also, keep an eye on sophomore Josh Palmer, a player with good size and speed that should make the three-deep at wideout and see some balls thrown his way. He’ll see less action if Jennings is good to go, but depth is always a good thing.
[dfads params=’groups=220&limit=1&return_javascript=1′]
Fresh Backfield: Tennessee has options at running back, which is critical because no one really knows the ceiling (or the floor) for the aerial attack. Sophomore Ty Chandler has the chance to be a great back. Carlin Fils-aime – who averaged 6.9 yards per clip last year – was moved to the secondary, but could see time playing both ways.
Pruitt’s staff also brought in Michigan State grad transfer Madre London, who has nearly 1,000 rush yards to his name at the collegiate level, and 225-lb bowling ball freshman Jeremy Banks.
Chandler is almost certainly the starter, and if a question-mark offensive line can open holes for him, he’s got the chance to put up some impressive numbers in 2018, particularly if UT leans on the run game.
On ‘D’ keep an eye out for studs like NT Shy Tuttle, LBs Darrin Kirkland and Daniel Bituli, and free safety Nigel Warrior (great name, right!?)
2018 Tennessee Volunteers Predictions: Team Weaknesses
Will A Real Signal-Caller Please Stand Up?: Central to UT’s improvement in 2018 is finding someone that can play the position of quarterback, if at least not well, more serviceably.
The Vols have the wide receiver talent to flourish if someone can deliver the ball with aplomb.
The battle will be between incumbent sophomore Jarrett Guarantano and grad transfer Keller Chryst, who Pruitt brought in this off-season. Chryst had some success a Stanford, a high-pedigree Pac-12 program, which should bode well for his chances.
Tennessee toggled three starting QBs last year; main guy Quinten Dormady transferred to Houston, while Guarantano is back after going 1-5 as a starter in 2017 and relative unknown Will McBride also started a game.
If Guarantano wins the job, he’ll have to deliver the football downfield more reliably, to give good WRs like Johnson and Callaway a chance to shine.
Check out the free College football picks from Cappers Picks experts today!
Don’t be surprised if either guy sees time under center at Neyland Stadium this season.
The offensive line also needs to get its proverbial crap together. Left guard Trey Smith is a special one, although he is coming off surgery to fix blood clots in his lungs, which certainly sounds foreboding.
The rest of the line needs to step up. The team will be looking to junior LT Drew Richmond to be a leader on the field and in the locker room.
Tennessee Volunteers Prediction: 6-6
A .500 season would likely be an achievement for first-time head coach Pruitt. He’s had success as a defensive co-ordinator in a few prestigious places (Florida State, Georgia, Alabama) but wearing the main headset is a different animal.
Even though Tennessee showed flashes under former coach Butch Jones, he largely left the program a mess; they were 0-8 in conference play last year. Pruitt has some recruiting and some developing to do.
Schedule-wise, it’s the SEC, so what can you expect? It ain’t easy. Road games at Georgia and Auburn loom and hated Alabama and Florida also come into Knoxville. The first game of the season is an inter-conference tilt against Big 12 offensive juggernaut West Virginia, in neutral-site Charlotte.
[dfads params=’groups=219&limit=1&return_javascript=1′]
For the Vols, getting a QB in and solidified early is most important. Once they figure that out, the receivers have ample talent with which to generate chemistry with either Chryst or Guarantano.
2018 Tennessee Volunteers Football Schedule
- 9/1/18 3:30 PM ET @WVU (Charlotte, NC)
- 9/8/18 4:00 PM ET ETSU
- 9/15/18 12:00 PM ET UTEP
- 9/22/18 TBD FLA
- 9/29/18 TBD @UGA
- 10/13/18 TBD @AUB
- 10/20/18 TBD ALA
- 10/27/18 TBD @SOCAR
- 11/3/18 TBD CHAR
- 11/10/18 TBD UK
- 11/17/18 TBD MIZZ
- 11/24/18 TBD @VAN
What do you think about our 2018 Tennessee Volunteers predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2018!
The 2018 College futures betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on NCAA football, you are in the best possible place for online betting. CappersPicks.com has NCAAF odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find College football lines up for early games as well.
Check out our Updated College Football Betting Odds.