Tennessee vs Ohio: Five Vols to Watch for vs Bobcats

Tennessee vs Ohio: Five Vols to Watch for vs Bobcats

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) celebrates after a win against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tennessee won 45-24. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee vs Ohio should be the final tune-up game on Rocky Top before the SEC schedule. Here are five Volunteers to watch for in the match-up.


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With a 2-0 record, the Vols enter their third non-conference game of the year, and they have yet to out-gain an opponent. The Tennessee vs Ohio match-up could be another issue for this team if they’re not careful.

Tennessee first faced a Sun Belt team that has deadly weapons all over the field. Then they faced a deceivingly good Virginia Tech Hokies team.

Now they get set to face a solid MAC opponent in the Ohio Bobcats. Ohio is the third straight opponent that runs misdirection option plays to catch teams off-guard.

Bob Shoop can’t catch a break, can he?

Tennessee still has lots of work to do to improve, but the Bobcats are the opponent on their schedule so far.

However, they can’t take this team lightly. After all, Frank Solich is head coach of this team, and he did beat the Vols while with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 1999.

At the same time, he gave this team trouble in 2009 with the Bobcats.

Despite a fluke overtime loss to the Texas State Bobcats to open the season, this is a dangerous team. Many analysts are predicting them to win the MAC.

So the Vols will have to keep their focus throughout this match-up. After all the Bobcats are a very tough team at their level.

Here are the five Vols to watch for in the Tennessee vs Ohio game.

Danny O'Brien

Defensive Tackle, Senior

Danny O’Brien had a very rocky junior year after facing high expectations. He first had to face a suspension. Then he lost his starting job. And finally, he spent the entire year trying to get back the consistency he once had.

The result was disastrous.

However, he won his starting job back at the start of this year. And he’s made the most of that opportunity. In the Battle at Bristol against the Virginia Tech Hokies, he had two tackles and a tackle for a loss.

But the story was the push he continually got against the Hokies offensive line.

The Vols need the same thing from him in the Tennessee vs Ohio game. The Bobcats run lots of misdirection, as Frank Solich has tailored his option offense to the times.

As a result, O’Brien needs to be able to get off cut blocks as a defensive tackle. That will free up the defensive ends in Corey Vereen and Derek Barnett.

O’Brien will be crucial to stopping that as a veteran defensive tackle. Shy Tuttle could be a guy who would be on this list, but coming back from injury, Butch Jones would likely prefer to save him.

That puts more pressure on O’Brien. And he needs to be able to keep up his dramatic improvement his senior year. Meanwhile, there’s another defensive tackle on this list.

Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Kendal Vickers (39) sacks Virginia Tech Hokies quarterback Jerod Evans (4) during the third quarter at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Kendal Vickers

Defensive Tackle, Junior

Just like Danny O’Brien, the Vols will need Kendal Vickers to get off cut blocks as a defensive tackle in the Tennessee vs Ohio game.

That will help them blow up Frank Solich’s misdirection option plays, which has helped the offense put up ridiculous numbers through the first two games.

Like O’Brien, Vickers has had a great story as well. But his is even better. He committed to the Vols as a three-star defensive end. Then the coaches asked him to move over to defensive tackle, although he was significantly below the necessary weight at the time.

But he did it for the team, and he has become one of the most reliable contributors on the team.

Against the Virginia Tech Hokies, Vickers outperformed O’Brien, coming away with four tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble. He has emerged into the surprising star of a loaded Vols defensive line.

He’s a brilliant lineman who understands the importance of getting off of cut blocks and getting in the right position. And he is the biggest key to the Tennessee football defensive line.

As a result, while O’Brien is a big deal, Vickers is a bigger deal in the Tennessee vs Ohio match-up. The Vols need him to get free and get off blocks quicker to free everybody else up.

So keep an eye on this new star of the Tennessee defense.

Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jalen Hurd (1) runs for a short gain while being tackled by Virginia Tech Hokies defensive back Terrell Edmunds (22) during the first half at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Hurd

Running Back, Junior

We’re done breaking down match-ups with Jalen Hurd. It doesn’t matter which team he goes against, he’s a key player for the Vols.

So despite the fact that the Tennessee vs Ohio game is a match-up in which the Vols have to face yet again another tough defensive front seven, we are putting Hurd on this list. After all, he’s clearly shown that he can be the workhorse against any team.

Against the Hokies, Bud Foster sold out to stop Hurd. However, he still gained 99 yards on 20 carries. And he gained a receiving yard to get to 100.

So once again, we are making Hurd a key player in this game. After all, if everything breaks down, Butch Jones and Mike DeBord know they can just fall back and hand him the ball ever time.

That’s all they need to do to make sure they get out of that game Saturday with a win before getting set for their brutal four-game stretch, which obviously starts with the Florida Gators.

The good news for Hurd is that Ohio has a weak secondary all the way around, so if he can get past the front line, he should be able to break tackles easily. At the same time, he should be able to catch quite a few passes out of the backfield.

Alvin Kamara finally made a sighting against the Hokies, but Hurd is still the workhorse of the offense until further notice.

Still, he needs some help from the manager of the offense.

Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) runs the ball against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the fourth quarter at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Dobbs

Quarterback, Senior

Through five quarters, Tennessee football fans in their over-reactionary tendencies freaked out and called for the benching of Joshua Dobbs. But he rebounded the final three quarters against the Virginia Tech Hokies, going for nearly 300 total yards and scoring five total touchdowns, three passing and two rushing.

Now, going into the Tennessee vs Ohio game, the Vols need Dobbs to keep up his skills as a playmaker.

Sure, he needs some help with his offensive line, which is going to be a big issue again going up against a veteran front seven. But he is also facing a weak and inexperienced secondary.

There is no reason he can’t torch this unit for lots of yards.

Dobbs is facing a MAC opponent that struggled against the passing game of Texas State and a weak Big 12 team in the Kansas Jayhawks. He needs to put up lots of points early to help the Vols escape with an easy win.

For once, the Vols need to start fast, and that is going to fall on Dobbs. They want to be able to finish off the Bobcats early to bring in their backups in order to relax for the Gators.

They couldn’t do that last week, and it cost them with Darrin Kirkland Jr. getting hurt. Doing that again will be an issue.

And speaking of Kirkland getting hurt, that’s a reason for this next player being the most important Vol in the Tennessee vs Ohio game.

Sep 26, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (21) and defensive back Emmanuel Moseley (12) during the first quarter at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Reeves-Maybin

Linebacker, Senior

Yes, Jalen Reeves-Maybin is the most important player for the Vols in the Tennessee vs Ohio game, just as he’s the most important player on the Vols overall.

Reeves-Maybin was ejected in the first game. And look how much the defense struggled to get off the field against the misdirection plays of the Appalachian State Mountaineers as a result.

The Virginia Tech Hokies also run misdirection plays, but they were only a threat in the first quarter to the Vols. Thanks to Reeves-Maybin’s appearance, they were useless after that thanks to adjustments by Bob Shoop.

Going into this game, Reeves-Maybin has an even bigger role. The Vols are facing their third straight opponent that bases its offense on misdirection plays. And in this game, Darrin Kirkland Jr., the other starting linebacker, is out of the game.

As a result, Reeves-Maybin will have as crucial of a role as the defensive line in trying to keep the Bobcats in check.

If he gets out of position or fails in his abilities as a playmaker, Ohio could keep this thing interesting much longer than Vols fans want it to be.

So lots of the team’s success rests on what Reeves-Maybin can do. The Tennessee vs Ohio game comes down to the Vols’ ability to exploit the Bobcats’ secondary, rely on Jalen Hurd to be himself, and stop the Ohio misdirection plays.

Reeves-Maybin is the most important piece to them stopping those misdirection plays.

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