One of the biggest reasons why the Tennessee Vols didn't finish with a better record than 9-4 last season is because the program struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone.
In 2022, when the Vols went 11-2 with big wins against Alabama and LSU, Tennessee had the No. 3 red zone offense in the nation.
Last season, when Tennessee dropped a couple of games they should've won, the Vols had the No. 73 red zone offense in the nation.
Against Alabama last year, Tennessee failed to score a touchdown on three of their four trips to the red zone. That game probably has a much different outcome if the Vols are able to convert in the red zone.
Improving in the red zone in 2024 is obviously a must for Tennessee if the program is going to be a legitimate College Football Playoff contender this fall.
And that's why the Vols have spent a lot of "time on task" during fall camp when it comes to improving their red zone offense.
Vols head coach Josh Heupel told reporters on Monday that Tennessee's made some "subtle changes" to their red zone approach.
“Time on task, we spent a bunch of time in that area of the field, both sides of the football," explained Heupel. "Schematically, subtle changes to what we’ve done. We gotta to be efficient, prolific, throwing football. When you’re off schedule down there, you get into the season, you got to be elite running the football...at the end of the day, we’ve got to go prove it, but we’ve continued to grow in that area.”
There are several reasons why Vols fans should feel confident that Tennessee will be better in the red zone in 2024.
For starters, Tennessee has an elite red zone scoring threat in redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who proved last season in the Vols' Citrus Bowl win against Iowa that he can be dangerous in the red zone. Iamaleava rushed for three touchdowns against a stingy Hawkeyes defense.
Tennessee also has several elite red zone receiving threats, including big targets in Tulane transfer wide receiver Chris Brazzell and redshirt senior wide receiver Bru McCoy (who returns in 2024 after missing the final two months of the 2023 season).
Throw in a few X-factors in tight ends Ethan Davis, Holden Staes, and Miles Kitselman (that trio could be a game-changer for the Vols in the red zone), and it's easy to see how there's optimism that Tennessee will be more efficient in the red zone this fall.
Under Heupel, Tennessee has typically done a good job of identifying problem areas and improving. Based on that trend, I'd expect the Vols to be much better in 2024 when they get into the red area of the field.
Related: Former Vols DB Brandon Turnage explains why he transferred to Ole Miss and makes strong statement about his time at Tennessee
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