2020 OU Schedule Preview: Has Jeremy Pruitt Figured it Out at Tennessee?

The Vols botched the start of 2019, got blown out by the SEC's best, then feasted on a weak finishing schedule. The future looks bright, but how good is the team coming to Norman?

Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano :: Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel-Imagn Content Services, LLC

Jeremy Pruitt may or may not have been on the hot seat early in his second season in Knoxville.

But Pruitt certainly has the Tennessee program pointed in the right direction heading into Year 3.

2020 Oklahoma Sooners schedule

• Sept. 5 — Missouri State
• Sept. 12 — Tennessee
• Sept. 26 — at Army
• Oct. 3 — Baylor
• Oct. 10 — Texas
• Oct. 17 — at Iowa State
• Oct. 24 — Oklahoma State
• Oct. 31 — at TCU
• Nov. 7 — at West Virginia
• Nov. 14 — Kansas State
• Nov. 21 — Kansas
• Nov. 28 — at Texas Tech
• Dec. 5 — Big 12 Championship Game

While in the process of cleaning up the mess that Butch Jones left behind, Pruitt rerouted a painfully slow start in 2019 and guided the Vols to an 8-5 finish, a six-game winning streak and a Gator Bowl victory over Indiana.

Now Pruitt is college football’s flavor of the month, architect of the nation’s No. 2-ranked recruiting class for 2021 that has Vol Nation thinking big.

That means high expectations for their Sept. 12 trip to Norman.

According to FoxBet.com, Oklahoma is an early 7-point favorite when the teams meet at Owen Field in Week 2. Tennessee fans say bunk to that.

The Vols went 5-3 in the SEC last year, and maybe that points to bigger things in 2020.

Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt / Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee has eight starters back on defense and eight on offense, including quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, a fifth-year senior who was uneven last season (16 touchdowns, eight interceptions), which put Brian Maurer and J.T. Shrout behind center for five starts. Incoming freshmen Harrison Bailey and Jimmy Holiday also will try to insert themselves into the conversation.

Uncertainty but intense competition is expected at running back (Ty Chandler, Eric Gray and Tim Jordan each had more than 100 carries last season and all three are back) and receiver (Josh Palmer, second last year with 34 catches, is the only returning starter, but four freshmen are expected to contend for playing time).

Likewise, there is experience and depth across the offensive line, but offseason surgeries (freshman All-America left tackle Wanya Morris), transfers (former Georgia Bulldog Cade Mays might need a waiver) and possible position switches (Jahmir Johnson has started at left guard and left tackle) have clouded an otherwise promising outlook.

Tennessee ranked 100th nationally in total offense last season, but ranked 23rd in total defense.

Tennessee linebacker Henry To'o To'o :: Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel -Imagn Content Services, LLC

Former juco transfer and 2018 starter Emmit Gooden is back the fortify the defensive line after missing 2019 with a knee injury, and former Michigan transfer Aubrey Solomon returns experience and talent to a deep rotation up front.

Linebacker Darrell Taylor led the team with 8 1/2 quarterback sacks and is now in the NFL, so finding his replacement is paramount. Kivon Bennett came on late in 2019, and versatile sophomore Quavaris Crouch should be fine after offseason shoulder surgery. Inside linebacker includes freshman All-American Henry To’o To’o and backup J.J. Peterson likely ascending the depth chart, but expect good competition there, too.

Five players with extensive starting experience return at defensive back, including nickelback Shawn Shamburger and cornerback Bryce Thompson.

As a program, Tennessee isn’t where it wants to be because, over the past decade, the Vols are just 3-27 against the SEC’s Big Three of Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Tennessee hasn’t won 10 games in a season since 2007 — and they’re 0-2 against Oklahoma during that time, with losses in Norman in 2014 and Knoxville in 2015.

But after losing last year to Georgia State and BYU — at Neyland Stadium, no less — and getting blown out by the Gators, Bulldogs and Crimson Tide by a combined score of 112-30 — Pruitt saved the season, and possibly his job, by beating South Carolina, UAB, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt down the stretch to get to a bowl and elevate expectations.

Those last four conference opponents, however, finished a combined 10-22 in SEC play, so an air of caution might be needed regarding the Vols’ 2019 stretch run.

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