Tennessee football 2022 season prediction, preview, awards, 2022 bowl game

Tennessee football fans are no stranger to false hope, but the Vols might actually have something to be hopeful for in the 2022 season.

Stepping into the mess that Jeremy Pruitt left Tennessee football in was an unenviable task for any head coach, but Josh Heupel stepped onto the sidelines undeterred and made the Vols one of the most fun teams in the country a year ago. Just as importantly, he got them back to winning games.

In just one season with the program, Heupel has raised the bar in Knoxville from spunk underdog to potential dark horse SEC East contender. Now comes the hard part: Delivering the goods.

Coming at in No. 17 on FanSided’s Preseason Top 50 Rankings, the Tennessee Volunteers!

Tennessee football 2021 season in review

The proverbial haters who were predicting the demise of Josh Heupel upon arrival in Knoxville were in shambles by the time December rolled around.

No, the Vols weren’t contending to win the SEC East but the former UCF head man arrived with a strategy to mine the most success from this team with a heavy dose of transfers and fast-paced offense and it worked extremely well.

Tennessee finished the regular season at 7-5 and, while the team was largely not competitive against the likes of Georgia, Alabama and Florida while also lost the Mustard Bottle Ball against Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss, they won the games they should’ve to get to postseason play, something that did not feel like a given coming into the year and particularly in the immediate aftermath of Pruitt’s exit.

Unfortunately, the year ended on a sour note with a heartbreaking loss to Purdue in an overtime classic for the Music City Bowl. But even with a 7-6 finish overall, Heupel has immediately raised the bar. Now, despite a demanding schedule ahead, the Vols aren’t expected to be a pesky offensive-minded underdog — they’re expected to be a factor in 2022.

Previewing Tennessee Volunteers offense for 2022 season

Returning starters (8): QB Hendon Hooker, RB Jabari Small, WR Cedric Tillman, TE Jacob Warren, RT Darnell Wright, LG Jerome Cavin, RG Javontez Spraggins, OC Cooper Mays
Newcomers: WR Bru McCoy (USC/Texas), OT Gerald Mincey (Florida), 4-star IOL Addison Nichols, 4-star QB Tayven Jackson, 4-star RB Justin Williams-Thomas, 4-star WR Kaleb Webb
Impact player: Hendon Hooker

No surprise, but the Vols offense is going to remain their impetus for success. Hendon Hooker is the engine that propels the Briles-style offense forward in Knoxville and has a legitimate chance at making a dark horse Heisman Trophy push after his monster 31-touchdown, three-interception 2021 performance that also included a handful of rushing scores as well.

What makes the hopes for Hooker even higher is the weaponry returning around him. His top pass-catcher, Cedric Tillman, is back in the fray along with Jacob Warren at tight end and a running back room that has Jabari Small as the most experienced returner. But the big key is a huge influx of talent within that group.

Playing behind an offensive line that got better throughout 2021 and now returns four starters, it’s hard to not be extremely high on what the Tennessee offense is capable of.

Previewing Tennessee Volunteers defense for 2022 season

Returning starters (8): DE Tyler Baron, DE Byron Young, DT Elijah Simmons, LB Jeremy Banks, LB Aaron Beasley, CB Warren Burrell, S Trevon Flowers, S Jaylen McCollough
Newcomers: CB Andre Turrentine (Ohio State), 4-star DL Tyre West, 4-star EDGE James Pearce Jr., 4-star EDGE Joshua Josephs
Impact player: Byron Young

For as unworried about the offense as fans should be, the defense is a different story entirely.

It’s not as dire of a situation as that might make things sound, however. For beginners, getting eight starters back to go along with a group of 4-star freshmen and an Ohio State transfer in the secondary is a positive. Moreover, Byron Young is back and looks to pick up where he left off as a productive and disruptive presence in opposing backfields, an area that was a defined strength of this unit a season ago.

Having said that, where Young and most notably the secondary need to show their experience and moxie is in the crucial situations of the game. The Vols have to be a more reliable pass defense overall, which comes down to Burrell, Flowers, McCollough and more buckling down and improving in coverage. On top of that, they have to get that explosive offense back on the field when they have the chance after being an awful third-down defense a year ago.

After improvements from 2020 to 2021 and with the talent Heupel is bringing back or bringing in, though, there is no reason to think we can’t see a better Tennessee defense this season than we did a year ago, one that doesn’t demand the offense put up 40 for the Vols to notch a win.

Tennessee football players awards watch for 2022 season

Hendon Hooker, Heisman

While Hooker is up for other awards this season, I’m putting him in dark horse Heisman contention. After a year in the Heupel offense and with the program in which he was dominant statistically, both he and the rest of the Vols should be even better. He might not hoist the trophy, but I have him down to be a candidate who deserves legitimate consideration.

Jeremy Banks, Butkus

Banks has the skills to be a huge difference-maker in the middle of the Vols defense next season and figures to rack up plenty of tackles as one of the leaders on that side of the ball.

Cedric Tillman, Biletnikoff/Maxwell

A rising tide raises all ships, so if Hooker is getting the love he is, it’s only going to strengthen the case for Cedric Tillman to get some awards season love as well. Tillman shined in the 2021 season and now has an established rapport with Hooker, which should lead to a monster statistical campaign for the returning starter.

Tennessee football biggest game on 2022 schedule

Despite a brutal schedule for the Vols that will put them to the test from start to finish in the regular season, there is little doubt that their SEC opener on Sept. 24 when they welcome the Florida Gators to Neyland Stadium.

There was arguably no more disappointing loss a year ago than losing by three scores to Dan Mullen’s team despite the Swamp-dwellers being on the verge of an implosion that eventually came to pass. Granted, the Vols still ended up at 7-5 in the regular season with that defeat going against them, but the fact of the matter is that the team and offense Tennessee put on the field last year were enough to beat Florida.

While there should be hope in Gainesville with the arrival of Billy Napier and with a talent like Anthony Richardson at quarterback, there remains a bevy of questions about the Gators this season, far more so than there are with the Vols. If Tennessee is going to truly inspire the belief that they are back on the track to being an SEC force, it starts with winning a relatively evenly matched game early in the season against a conference and division rival at home.

Tennessee football best-case scenario

Figuring out the best-case scenario for Tennessee football might seem complicated by the schedule they have to navigate. However, that’s not actually the case.

For as good as the Vols can be in the 2022 season, we can go ahead and chalk up two losses as Alabama’s trip to Knoxville and then when the team goes to Athens in early November. The Vols just aren’t on that level yet.

Outside of that, the other 10 teams that are on the schedule are beatable. At Pitt on Sept. 10 could be tough, but there is also a lot of roster turnover with the Panthers and Tennessee could be able to just run past them with the high-octane offense. LSU and Florida might be more talented but they also have questions about how the teams coalesce. Can Kentucky keep up with Tennessee’s pace? Is South Carolina good enough to do the same?

When you come down to it, Tennessee football could be 10-2 at the end of the regular season if they live up to their potential every week of the season.

Tennessee football worst-case scenario

Because we don’t yet know how SEC coaches will adjust to Heupel’s offense, because we don’t know what kind of jump the defense will make, because we don’t know what leap Hendon Hooker will make, there is a wide range of outcomes for the Vols this season.

Starting with the two foregone conclusion losses, if Florida and LSU were to figure out their offenses basically right out of the starting gates, then Tennessee could be in trouble, particularly if their defense doesn’t find its footing right away. Meanwhile, if the Tennessee offense gets tripped up or has some kinks that fail to get ironed out, then Kentucky and South Carolina could beat this team as well, especially if Spencer Rattler realizes his potential with the Gamecocks. And then we go back to Pitt, a Pat Narduzzi team that could potentiall just beat the Vols into submssion.

When you see where things could go wrong and look at the tough opponents this team will be up against, there is a world where we see a regression in terms of record in Knoxville with the Vols missing out on a bowl game at 5-7.

Tennessee football 2022 season prediction

At the end of the day, Tennessee football isn’t winning five games — they aren’t winning 10 games either, but they are most definitely going to be bowling this season.

My best guess is that the Vols lose to Bama and UGA (as virtually every other SEC team does too), they get the win over a Pitt team that I think might struggle to find an identiy early in the year, split the games between Florida and LSU with my gut leaning towards losing in Baton Rouge off of the open week, and then probably get caught sleeping once more against Kentucky or South Carolina (or maybe Missouri if the Tigers find the special sauce).

All told, that would leave the Vols at 8-4 on the season which, when two of those losses are against likely Top 5 teams in college football, that could be a lot, lot worse and it’s also an improvement from last year with the chance to also get to nine wins. In any case, Heupel will keep this program on an upward trajectory.

Tennessee football 2022 bowl game prediction

Bill Bender of Sporting News has his early preseason bowl projections that feature the Tennessee Volunteers playing in the Citrus Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers. Meanwhile, the College Football News projections have the Vols in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl facing off with the Florida State Seminoles.

Up Next: No. 16: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

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