Relentless pursuit
There has been so much preseason talk about Tennessee's speedy stars coming off the edges of its defense that it has everybody in Knoxville eager to see what all the fuss is about.
Even the Vols' coaching staff and players can't seem to make it through a week without gushing about Tennessee's front four. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs told Chattanoogan.com's Larry Fleming he believes the Vols have assembled the best defensive line in college football:
It's been a great opportunity for our offensive line to go up against the best defensive line in the nation in my opinion. You've got guys across the board that are solidified pass-rushers and solidified run-stoppers as well. It's been great for the youth of our offensive line to progress and grow and obviously for our older offensive lineman to continue to hone their skills. It's a constant battle every day and it's very competitive. That's definitely what we need to push each other to be successful.
Even though Appy State returns three offensive line starters, the Mountaineers shouldn't have the horses to stop players such as potential All-American Derek Barnett, senior Corey Vereen, senior LaTroy Lewis and former top-ranked JUCO player Jonathan Kongbo.
That's UT's two-deep, and it's not even counting former U.S. Army All-American Kyle Phillips or redshirt freshman Darrell Taylor, who has shown out during preseason drills.
Toss in outside linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin and backup Quart'e Sapp, who'll get plenty of rushing opportunities, and it'll be tough for ASU to stop the Vols.
New defensive coordinator Bob Shoop will bring the house early and often, but how much will he have to show to disrupt quarterback Taylor Lamb and company? If the Vols can get away with being vanilla, that may be the best approach. But they need to turn up the pressure when they can.
Control the pace
Appalachian State is going to want to control the game with long possessions and with running back Marcus Cox on the ground, especially considering it returns a veteran line to go along with the 1,000-yard rusher, and Appy's top four receivers are gone.
It's going to be up to the Vols to get them off the field and keep them there.
Offensively, sure, the Mountaineers have nine starters returning from a defense that ranked 11th nationally a season ago, but they only faced one offense with the kind of talent UT boasts, and that was Clemson. The Tigers disposed of them easily, 41-10.
Satterfield compared the two foes this week and talked up UT as being better.
"In my opinion, starting the season, they are ahead of where Clemson was last year," Satterfield said on a Saturday teleconference. "The difference is, what Tennessee has coming back this year are so many proven players that Clemson didn't have last year."
With all those players, the Vols must display the talent discrepancy early and often. You can't let an unassuming team with a few good players of its own hang around too long. That's what happened in the Michigan win, said Satterfield, who coached quarterbacks in '07.
"We caught them early, and our kids said, 'Oh man, we can play with these guys,'" Satterfield told 247Sports' Chris Hummer. "We caught Michigan on kind of a down day for them. They kind of woke up in the second half, but sometimes when you wake up it’s too late."
Hit some big plays
OK, so maybe this isn't a key to winning the game for the Vols, but it certainly should be a key within the framework of the season's needs.
If Tennessee's Dobbs can find Josh Malone or Preston Williams or another receiver a few times down the field for some chunk gains, it could really boost the passing-game confidence before the meat of the season.
Other than Dobbs being a senior, there hasn't been many reasons for DeBord to trust him flinging the ball everywhere, but this is an early opportunity to show he's capable. It's also a chance for Tennessee's young receiving corps to find a few stars.
This isn't the type of game where you want to get Dobbs, Jalen Hurd or Alvin Kamara banged up by overusing them running the ball. Getting some big plays through the air would be ideal on several different levels. It needs to be a wrinkle UT utilizes.