Tennessee Flying Under the Radar Per College Football Analyst

The Tennessee Volunteers are flying under the radar this offseason according to college football analyst Greg McElroy.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) hugs Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel before the Citrus Bowl NCAA College football game on Monday, January 1, 2024 in Orlando, Fla. between Tennessee and Iowa. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY

The Tennessee Volunteers are flying under the radar this offseason according to college football analyst Greg McElroy.

The Tennessee Volunteers are looking to improve upon what occurred a season ago. The program jumped into the 2023 college football season with high expectations following a 2022 season that jolted some momentum within the program. The Volunteers are shaping up to be one of the better teams in the conference, but aren't exactly garnering a lot of buzz in the media.

Former Alabama quarterback and current college football analyst Greg McElroy feels that Tennessee is flying under the radar a bit this season when in reality, they might be one of the more complete football teams in the conference.

"I look at Tennessee and while I think Tennessee fans are bullish about a possible playoff spot, I don't feel like Tennessee's really captured the nation's attention," said McElroy. "Kind of like what we talked about with Georgia. There isn't really a quarterback competition. There aren't a ton of question marks that you have on defense."

The Volunteers displayed a much improved defensive showing last season and they will enter the 2024 season with Nico Iamaleava as the starting quarterback and a star player on the defensive side of the football in the form of James Pearce Jr. Despite those headliners, the Volunteers haven't been one of the bigger talking points this offseason, but McElroy thinks that might be a good thing.

"I think most people would have Tennessee fifth in the SEC, maybe sixth coming into the season, depending on how you want to shake things out between Texas, Bama, Georgia, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, and Tennessee," McElroy said. "That's probably your top seven. Tennessee, I feel like, is way on down the list as far as the amount of coverage they're getting this offseason. And maybe that's good for them because they did not handle the expectations as well last year as one would have liked." 

The Volunteers may not be leading the charge for the offseason hype train but they look to be in good standing heading into Heupel's fourth season as head coach.

Other Tennessee News:

• Travis Smith Jr Sets Commitment Date
• George MacIntyre Accepts Invitation To Elite 11
• Josh Heupel Details Importance of 2022 Alabama Victory

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