Vols Vs. Dawgs: It’s All About The Big Uglies Tomorrow

Image: Saul Young/News Sentinel

By Cody McClure

You’ve heard all about quarterbacks this week.

Joey Aguilar this. Gunner Stockton that.

The quarterbacks aren’t going to decide Tennessee’s game against Georgia on Saturday.

It’s not to say that they won’t matter. The quarterback always matters, and I think the Vols having the better one in this game will be an edge.

But the game will truly be won and lost elsewhere.

It will be won and lost in the trenches, of course. Those in real Football circles know this.

As a wise Football coach once told me…

“I’m sorry, son, but you really are just too fat to pull at this point. You can’t play guard anymore. We’ve gotta move you out to tackle. Maybe if you would have eased up on the China King Buffet we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Did you have to go four times a week? Would two trips not have sufficed?”

Wait, wrong quote. Here’s the one I was looking for:

“Everybody gets hung up on these quarterbacks. But at the end of the day, Football comes down to two things… blocking and tackling.”

It’s true, folks.

All that high-flying offense is cute. It’s fun. It sells tickets and generates headlines. And I love it, too. We all remember how fun 2022 was in Knoxville.

But if you wanna be one of the elites… one of the true championship contenders… one of those teams taken seriously… you’ve gotta have the Big Uglies.

The offensive line does the dirty work that leads to those high-flying touchdowns. Quarterbacks are important. Receivers are important. Running backs are important.

But if you can’t block, you can’t do shit. Essentially. Those other three elements aren’t necessarily essential to success.

What I mean is you can get by with having one or two of them and still be successful. But there’s zero chance of success with poor blocking.

Georgia has made a living against Tennessee by feasting on our weaker offensive lines over the years.

The good news is, I believe, that Tennessee is about to trot out its best offensive line in years. And that’s whether David Sanders plays or not.

The ‘Dawgs aren’t going to be able to stop our rushing attack with light boxes as they have in the past. They’re going to have to commit more guys inside, which will open things up for Joey to make some plays.

That will allow for balance in the offense. Joey can hit a few throws inbetween that O-line and fresh stable of backs pounding the rock.

On the defensive side, you’ve gotta have those hosses on the interior, too. The guys who can plug up all the holes and make it a stalemate at the line of scrimmage. That allows the linebackers to get in there freely and tackle ball carriers.

Tennessee has improved tremendously in that area since Rodney Garner has been coaching the D-line.

Does it worry me somewhat in this game that UT lost Omari Thomas, Omarr Norman-Lott, and Elijah Simmons from last year’s D-tackle rotation?

Yes.

Does it worry me somewhat that Jaxson Moi, Tyree Weathersby, and Daevin Hobbs have been banged up?

Yes.

But — call me a sheep — I believe in Garner. I think he’s the best D-line coach in the country and I have the utmost confidence that he’ll have these boys ready to go.

Things are looking good in terms of Weathersby and Moi playing, and Bryson Eason is one of the best nose tackles in the SEC.

Plus, don’t forget about big Nathan Robinson — a Tennessee boy — being able to hold his own in there. Robinson was making plays all over the field against Syracuse.

All that work on the recruiting trail in recent years, I believe, has finally paid off with the Vols having some serious depth on the D-line.

I’m confident, for the first time in a long time, that Tennessee can hang with Georgia in the trenches — on both sides of the ball.

Make no mistake, it’s going to be a fight. But Tennessee is going to get it done at home.

The Vols have the better quarterback in this game. And I believe wholeheartedly in the “Neyland Effect.”

But most importanly, we’re not going to be bullied inside. I think we can stop the Georgia run and I think we can run the ball ourselves.

The Vols will be good enough to win this game, 23-16.