SEC East Previews: Q&A with All for Tennessee

Apr 12, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; A general view Neyland Stadium during the Tennessee Volunteers orange and white spring game. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Zach Regan from our sister Fansided site, All for Tennessee, was kind enough to answer some questions for us about Tennessee football…

1. Most of the early prognostications don’t have Tennessee finishing much higher than 5th in the East this year. Are UT fans expecting another 5-7 or 6-6 type of year?

"6-6 is what most fans are expecting. 5-7 wouldn’t surprise me, due to Tennessee’s difficult schedule, but I think 6-6 is a reasonable expectation."

2. Mississippi State was hot after QB Josh Dobbs during his recruitment. Do you expect him to start this year and what are your expectations for him?

"Now that Riley Ferguson is out of the picture the UT QB battle is essentially down to Justin Worley and Josh Dobbs. Both stared last season and while Dobbs is a better fit in Butch Jones’ offense, the team clearly played better with Worley on the field.But Dobbs has a year of experience under his belt now. He may not win the job out of camp, but I think he’ll be the guy by the end of the season."

3. What is the strength and weakness of the Tennessee team this year?

"Tennessee’s biggest strength should be in the passing game. Marquez North proved his worth last season as a true freshman. The Vols also brought in true freshman Josh Malone and juco transfer Von Pearson, giving the Vols a deadly WR group."

"The only question is whether the QBs will have enough time to get those WRs the ball. Which brings us to their biggest weakness — offensive line.Tennessee lost their entire starting offensive line, which means the QBs are probably not going to have much time to throw. The lack of experience across the line could be what keeps Tennessee from a bowl game this year."

4. The Vols seem to always play one really tough out-of-conference game each year. This year it is a road game vs. Oklahoma in Week 3. Given that Tennessee has struggled the last six seasons to get to a bowl game, how do the fans feel about playing these types of games?

"I think fans are starting to get frustrated. In the SEC those out-of-conference games just aren’t necessary like they are in other conferences and in Tennessee’s case this year (and last year) it could very well be the difference in them playing in a bowl game and watching from home."

5. Butch Jones has really excelled on the recruiting trails but his first year wasn’t anything special on the field. Do Volunteer fans firmly believe he is the guy to take them back to the Tennessee teams of the 90s and early 00s?

"Fans definitely believe in Jones. The cupboard was left pretty bare by Derek Dooley and really set the program back a few years. Obviously Tennessee will have to start showing some improvement on the field (which they did beat South Carolina last season), but I don’t think fans are truly expecting to see a major turn around until at least 2015."