By Chris Marler
Tennessee went into the bye week last Saturday riding a ton of momentum following their win over rival Alabama. The Volunteers now sit at 6-1 and have a 68 percent chance to make the College Football Playoff.
The 68 percent odds from ESPN FPI are the third highest in the SEC behind Texas and Georgia and the eighth best in the country.
So, what has been arguably the biggest difference for Heupel and the Volunteers to get to the postseason this time around? Depth from their youngest players, according to Heupel.
“As we’ve grown inside of our program, it’s been important that we develop more depth,” Huepel said. “It’s one of the things that we struggled with early in my tenure here, and a lot of reasons for that. But it’s not just the postseason. We’re a long way away from figuring out whether we play ourselves into anything like that.”
On Wednesday Josh Heupel praised his team’s young players and the depth they’ve provided, growing up quickly throughout the season, specifically true freshman Safety Boo Carter.
“I don’t think there’s just one, but a young player like Boo Carter, his transition into college football,” Huepel said. “I think is a great example of it. We challenge our young guys as I meet with them. That’s when they first get here, preseason, even (during) our bye weeks; understanding that it’s a long journey during the course of the season, and you got to keep investing and be ready for when your time comes. It’s going to come. You just want to make sure that you’re ready for it.”
Tennessee plays former SEC East divisional rival Kentucky this Saturday at 6:45 PM CST.
