NC State HC Dave Doeren explains how Josh Heupel and Tennessee surprised his team in blowout loss to Vols

The Tennessee Vols dominated NC State on Saturday night in Charlotte in part because of a new offensive wrinkle that the Wolfpack weren't expecting from UT.

After Tennessee's 51-10 win, NC State head coach Dave Doeren told reporters that the Vols were in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) far more frequently than they had shown on film.

"They got into bigger personnel, something they haven’t done a lot on film," said Doeren. "There was a lot of 12 personnel, two tight ends, one back tonight with their offense. And so, you know, credit them for changing up. Because if you watch them, most of their formations you’re going to see are four wides and one tight end formations."

Vols head coach Josh Heupel told reporters after the game that 12 personnel is something his team has been working on for a while.

"Offensively, for us, 12 personnel has been something that we’ve been working on for a while," explained Heupel. "Our roster, when we got here, for us, we had scholarship limitations and in particular on the offensive side of the football. That’s kind of where you pick your poison. And when I say that, you’re going to be limited at some position. And this is the deepest that our tight end room has been. We’ve been working on 12 personnel through the spring and through training camp. So we see it as something that will be a part of what we continue to do.”

Last month, VolQuest's Brent Hubbs told 104.5 The Zone's Ramon, Kayla, and Will that he expected to see Tennessee in two tight end sets more often this fall.

"I think they’re going to play a lot of two tight end — not a lot, but a good bit of two tight end sets," said Hubbs in late August . "I think you’ll see that some in the red zone where they can create some matchup advantages for them with Ethan Davis as a second tight end down there. I think that’s going to be a nice little potential wrinkle for this offense.”

(Maybe Doeren should've been listening to 104.5 The Zone while prepping for the Vols.)

There's a perception from some folks in the media that Heupel and his staff run the same offensive plays over and over. But that's clearly not the case. Heupel is always looking to evolve offensively. And I'd expect to see Tennessee continue to introduce new offensive wrinkles to throw off opposing defenses.

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