Low Man Wins: the Role of Tennessee's Offensive Line in 2024
How one of Tennessee's most maligned position groups has established the tone for UT's offense
Let me be clear from the start: this is not an effort to make you believe the Tennessee offensive line is good. You’ve seen the games just like I have. Pass protection has struggled since SEC play began. You know the O-Line rarely gives Nico Iamaleava a clean pocket. They give up too many sacks—middle of the pack in SEC play with 18 sacks allowed on the year and 2.25 per game (for comparison, LSU is the SEC’s best at sacks allowed with just 4 total on the year; even Vanderbilt gives up just 1.22 sacks per game). Additionally, Tennessee has struggled at times to gain momentum in the run game when opponents have thrown an exotic front at them.
It wasn’t supposed to be like that. The offensive line is one of Tennessee’s most experienced position groups. The seven players involved most heavily in the OL rotation average 21 career starts and 42 games played—and that’s with LT Lance Heard being just a sophomore. The results have been inconsistent, however, and this offensive line as a whole has taken a lot of criticism from Vol fans (we do tend to be a reactive bunch after all).
So I won’t try to sell you on Tennessee’s O-Line being good. But what I will tell you about the Vols’ offensive line is that in each of Tennessee’s last three games, it’s been the OL that changed the tone of the game and asserted itself and Tennessee as an undeniable force. The Vols likely would not have beaten Florida, Alabama, and Kentucky without the tenacity of this group up front. Not always pretty, but somehow effective when needed most, this is the story of how a group that has taken a ton of heat from Vol fans is quietly setting the tone for UT’s success in 2024.
I: Fourth Down for Where?
This journey begins with an uncharacteristically large risk taken by Josh Heupel. For all the flashy offense Tennessee has become known for since Heupel’s arrival in Knoxville, CJH has never been one of those “riverboat gambler”-type coaches. He plays things fairly close to the vest, but in this case Heupel pushed his chips to the middle of the table and made an all-in wager on his offensive line. Facing 4th-and-1 at their own 10 yard line, Tennessee went for it. As in ran an offensive play in effort to convert the down. As in didn’t punt. From the 10. Their own 10.
It’s hard to overstate the situation here. That this is a potentially game-changing play is obvious. That this is potentially a season-changing play is not hyperbole. That this is potentially a career-defining play is still within bounds. Lose this game and you’re 1-2 in the SEC after being a top-5 team a few weeks ago. You’re staring down back-to-back losses to milquetoast Gator teams. If Tennessee fails to convert on this down, it’s nothing short of coaching malpractice, and three years of good will are boiled away by the heat of a suddenly scalding seat. I’m not saying Josh Heupel should’ve been fired if Tennessee failed to convert this play, but it’s certain the outrage would have been sudden, loud, and in many ways justified.
Jeopardizing the game and the collective sanity of the 102,000 fans in attendance, Tennessee lined up in a Power I formation before shifting the offset fullback to a wing left. On the snap, everyone blocked down to the left, save RG Javonte Spraggins, who pulled right to kick out the DE. Tight end Miles Kitselman, lined up at fullback, led into the hole and DeSean Bishop followed his blockers for a five-yard gain and the first down.
It’s an insane call. You can’t call that play there. And yet it needed to be called. Tennessee has a championship-caliber defense. The offense had to do something to put itself on that level too. It doesn’t even really matter that this drive was “wasted” by an ugly interception a few plays later. This was fundamental football: get low and drive. Will yourself to gain that yard. Low man wins. The question had to be asked—can this veteran offensive line match the intensity and strength the defense has played with all year?
Asked, and answered.
II: Punch-Counterpunch
In the third quarter of a similarly tense Third Saturday in October, Alabama attempted to dictate the game’s physicality. After a pass-heavy Tennessee drive to open the second half died on the vine, Alabama took over inside their own 20 and proceeded to run the ball eight straight times. It was obvious what Bama was trying to accomplish. They wanted to brute-force the game open.
It was tense too, the nervous energy flowing through the stadium felt very much like a two-score deficit would be too much for Tennessee to overcome. And the Tide almost made it happen: starting at their own six, Alabama didn’t see a third down on this drive until reaching midfield, peeling off five runs of five or more yards on eight attempts. But facing 4th and 1 at their own 48, Bama opted to play for field position, punting the ball inside the 10.
Here’s where the tone of the game changed. Tennessee ran Y-Insert on 1st down, 13 yards for Dylan Sampson. Nico scrambled for 4. Sampson again cut outside on a Power Counter for 36 yards. Another Nico scramble, juking a Bama DB’s soul out of his body for 27 yards. After a couple of potential TD throws fell incomplete, UT decided to dance with the one that brought them, punching the ball in with Sampson on a Lead Dive from two yards out. Ninety-one yards, every inch of it on the ground. The haymakers that ended the fight would still come later, but they were set up by this series of body blows that established Tennessee’s place in the game.
III: Dark Mowed
Tennessee once again struggled through the first half of a game, this time against Kentucky, finding themselves tied or trailing (in this case trailing 7-10) at the break for the fourth game in a row. We knew coming in that defense is the strength of this year’s Kentucky team, holding both UGA and Ole Miss to season-low point totals by making the teams one-dimensional. But that didn’t make it less discouraging to watch, seeing chance after chance squandered.
Tennessee finally broke through the Cats’ defense in the second half. Clinging to a three-point lead late in the 4th quarter, Tennessee found itself with goal-to-go from the six. Lining up in a double-wing formation, Tennessee ran Y-Insert with Sampson up the middle. You’ve watched this play a million times since Saturday, and you’ll always remember the way Sampson broke the single-season rushing TD record: with everybody—everybody—pushing the pile into the endzone.
Yes it’s more than just the OL that gets credit for that play. In some ways, it wasn’t even blocked that well initially. And it’s a testament to Dylan Sampson that the whole offense so desperately wanted that record for him. But it’s equally a testament to the offensive line that they have led this team by example with their physical play to the point that even the skinny freshman QB will throw his two bills into the roughly one-ton mass of humanity creeping riverward in the south endzone.
You could counter this argument with clips of sacks, missed assignments, and plays that would’ve been great “if only…’. The few stats that can be attributed to offensive lines aren’t stellar, although from an analytics standpoint, some of them are pretty good:
3rd in SEC in Power Success Rate (converting on 3rd/4th and short)
1st in SEC in Stuff Rate (not getting stopped at or behind the line)
1st in SEC in Line Yards Per Rush (line yards=the first 4 yards of a run)
2nd in SEC/9th nationally in Total Line Yards
However, as I said from the start, this was never about convincing you that the Tennessee offensive line is good. Rather, what I have come to understand about this unit is they have filled a very important role for this Volunteer squad. Tennessee has an exceptional defense paired with a developing offense. It’s been on the veteran offensive line to lead with grit, and they’ve done just that. Sometimes football is played with what’s inside your chest as much as it’s played with hands and feet and eyes. Low man wins.