KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Josh Heupel has had an offensive reload on his hands this season at Tennessee, and things aren’t getting any easier.
The Vols will be without receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. after the Oregon transfer suffered a leg injury in the team’s loss at Missouri on Saturday, Heupel announced on Monday.
Tennessee opened the season replacing key players who moved on to the NFL: first-round offensive tackle Darnell Wright, QB Hendon Hooker and fellow third round WR picks Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman.
September saw USC transfer receiver Bru McCoy suffer a season-ending injury, taking away yet another key playmaker.
And yet, there was still a chance the Vols’ game with Georgia at 3:30 p.m. this Saturday (TV: CBS) could have had SEC title game implications entering last weekend.
Tennessee, instead, fell flat in a 36-7 loss at Missouri, and the Bulldogs applied themselves later that night with a 52-17 win over Ole Miss to clinch a spot in the SEC title game against Alabama.
Still, the Vols can earn immediate redemption by upsetting Georgia and work toward another 10-win season.
Even with the receivers out, UGA coach Kirby Smart knows UT still has very dangerous targets remaining, including a player in Squirrel White that Georgia worked very hard to recruit.
“It takes great prep for all their wide outs, (and) the thing that makes it hard with their wide outs is their run game,” Smart explained on Monday. “The run game is just incredible what they’re able to do, and off of that comes the pass game.
“(White) is a great player. We recruited him. He’s really fast, he’s dynamic, he’s gotten better with his age. He’s played a major role for them in terms of run after catch and vertical speed.”
Tennessee has won 14 straight games at Neyland Stadium, while the Bulldogs bring a 27-game win streak to Knoxville that is one shy of tying the SEC record (Alabama 1978-80, 1991-93).
Heupel, a former national championship quarterback at Oklahoma who led Tennessee to an 11-2 record last season, knows the challenge his team has this week.
“You look at Georgia, they play extremely well, smart football, physical football in all three phases of the game,” Heupel said.
“They have dynamic playmakers in all three phases of the game, as well. So it’s a huge test for us, and we have to have a great week of preparation to get ready for these guys.”
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The Bulldogs, like the Vols, went down a key player last Saturday with cornerback Julian Humphrey expected to miss time with an upper body injury.
Heupel said Tennessee will make appropriate adjustments and must win one-on-one battles in the passing game.
Smart makes no secret of his commitment to stop the run and hinted UGA will load up near the line against the talented Vols’ offensive backfield.
“You can’t stop it with light boxes -- they make it where you can’t,” Smart said.
“Their backs are easily the best stable of backs we’ve seen this year in terms of the backs — the package of backs they have. And that includes the quarterback with the backs.”
Heupel and his staff are ready to take advantage
“You’re always going to subtly change your scheme based on what you’re seeing structure-wise and personnel-wise on the other side,” Heupel said. “You always try to put those guys in a position where they can go win.
“In this one, there’s a bunch of one-on-ones. It’s going to be tight, contested coverage out on the outside. At the end of the day, they’re going to have to win some of those battles.”