I can’t really add much more than what Andrew said  on Friday to the expectations for the 2014 Tennessee Volunteers, so I’m going to devote this space to the ‘cycle’ that has made itself prevalent in the modern SEC.
Year 0: Team struggles, fires coach.
Year 1: New coach brings excitement, recruiting success. Moderate improvement of on-field product. (Vanderbilt doesn’t fit this model really, but Derek Mason acquitted himself well at Media Days)
Year 2: The product stagnates a little bit, but the first full years’ recruiting haul is super impressive. (Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Auburn)
Year 3: On-field results need to improve slightly or the natives start to get ruffled (Texas A&M, Mississippi)
Year 4: First recruits are upperclassmen, 8+ wins or bust. (Florida)
Year 5: The whole team is yours, fail expectations and you’re toast. (Mississippi State here, for convenience, as I realize Dan Mullen is in his sixth year)
Beyond: Congratulations, you made it. Your program is stabilized, people expect (and get) 9-11 wins a year, and you are a ‘power’. This is where Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and South Carolina currently fit. I don’t have Auburn on this list, because Gene Chizik went from lifting a crystal trophy to unemployed in 22 months. Missouri is stabilized, but not what I’d consider a power.
The fun part for the casual fan is years two and three, assuming its not your team trying to break the cycle of mediocrity. With half of the SEC ‘up and coming’, its likely that one, maybe two of those coaches survive to the point of stability.
Tennessee will have a good idea whether Butch Jones can make that happen after this season.
On the plus side: They are loaded potential impact players all over the field, including a dynamic receiving corps and a stable of running backs. Most notably, this guy who reminds me of a guy who wore the same number in red and black a few years ago:
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Marquez North is a fun player to watch do football things, and is (IMO) the best receiver in the SEC not named Amari Cooper.
The downside: they return zero starting offensive linemen, 1 on the other side, and have had shaky-at-best QB play since…geez. Seriously, Eric Ainge? Football is increasingly a quarterback’s sport, and SEC football is decided in the trenches. That does not bode well for the Vols.
I think they’re overrated by our esteemed staff at #8.
Five Players to Watch:
1) Marquez North, WR: See above. I’m a little bitter about this guy, because he was sealed up as a North Carolina commit but scuttlebutt from Charlotte abounds that Mr. North Senior got a new truck in January of 2013 and what am I talking about its an amateur sport.2) A.J. Johnson, LB: I could be off base here as a new defensive line may be unable to keep him clear of opposing linemen, but I think he’s the best inside LB in the SEC.
3) Dontavius Blair, LT: The junior college transfer is expected to have the first crack at UT’s left tackle spot. Yikes.
4) Justin Worley, QB: He has about three seconds to get the ball out of his hands, but again…has a lot of receiving talent (North, Pig Howard, Von Pearson, Josh Malone, Jason Croom).
5) Cameron Sutton, CB: He started all 12 games as a true freshman, and could be a difference maker at the corner spot.
Random Gambling Tidbit
Tennessee is just 2-8 against the spread as home underdogs in the past two years. Circle the Alabama game on October 25th.
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