One of the main reasons why the Tennessee Volunteers did not have as much offensive success in 2023 as they did in 2022 was a lack of explosive passing plays.
In 2022, the Vols ranked seventh in the country in yards per completion. In 2023, Tennessee ranked 58th in yards per completion.
There’s quite a drop off.
Joey Halzle, Tennessee’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, spoke with reporters on Tuesday ahead of the start of fall camp, and he admitted that Tennessee was lacking the “big play” last season because the offense was a “step off”.
“Our message to the guys has been, because there’s competition at every position right now, is we want to see everyone come out there and just cut it loose,” according to Halzle. “You need to cut it loose. That is where the huge plays come from. That was what we missed last year: the big play. And that will be part of what we do again this year. And it wasn’t for a lack of taking photos; we were simply a step behind for whatever reason. That has been our entire situation. If you go out there, cut it loose. Whatever your role is on that specific play, let it rip at 100 miles per hour and good things will happen. And that is our message to our entire team.”
One reason why supporters may be confident that the offense’s huge plays will return in 2024
Because Nico Iamaleava is the Vols’ new starting quarterback. Halzle also recognized on Tuesday that his skill set differs from Joe Milton’s.
“Joe had his own skill set, and we catered to that,” Halzle explained. “Nico has his own; you’ll cater to that. So whatever that looks like as we get started, it’ll be entertaining to watch.”
Halzle and Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel would never admit it (and they shouldn’t), but the main reason UT’s offense struggled last season was a lack of top quarterback play. It wasn’t that Milton was poor; guiding a team to an eight-win regular season in the SEC is something that few UT quarterbacks have done in the last 15 years; he simply wasn’t talented enough to replicate the success that Tennessee’s offense achieved in 2022.
Fortunately for the Vols, it appears like Halzle and Heupel are quite confident in Iamaleava’s ability to return Tennessee’s offensive to its 2022 level (and potentially beyond).
“He’s been very urgent, worked hard, understanding what we’re doing offensively, defensive schemes, the ability to control everything from the run game to protections to checks that we have inside of our offense,” Heupel told reporters on Tuesday when asked about Iamaleava.
It’s shaping up to be another exciting season for Tennessee football, though it appears that’s becoming the standard under Heupel.